The sun starts from the east
by CluelessIdiot
Summary: [Narusasu][Kakairu][shounenai] Like Sasuke would let something as insignificant as gender get in the way of reviving the Uchiha clan. Now all he needs, is a husband to change the diapers! And is Kakashi on crack? Mpreg ? Maybe from a completely new perspe
1. Defeat by Default

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.

Author's note: Sorry people this is my first fanfic so please be easy on me. This is a shounen-ai fanfic so if you are not comfortable please don't continue.

Chapter 1 : Introductions

The sun starts to rise from the east, bathing the hidden village of Konoha in a soft golden light. All was quiet so early in the morning all except at the Uchiha Manor. A certain dark-haired jounin was currently clutching an antediluvian scroll in one hand and screaming unmentionable obscenities towards his entire deceased clan and one late older brother which he killed himself.

"Itachi this is all your damn fault you $#$$#!" Sasuke sputtered indignantly for the sixth maybe seventh time to no one in particular.

"If you didn't kill the entire clan I might not have this problem you f$ing SOB!" desperation and hopelessness set in hard, as the great Uchiha Sasuke crumpled to the ground clutching his head in despair.

"Oi Sasuke-teme, what in the world are you yelling about!" a disembodied voice boomed from outside his window.

Sasuke half-heartedly reached for a paper weight on his desk and tossed it in the general direction of the annoying yet strangely familiar voice. Resulting in a soft thud and commotion in the trees beside his window.

"Ow! What was that for Uchiha jerkface!" the voice squeaked as a 6 foot blond in ANBU's garb leapt gracefully onto his window ledge, rubbing his forehead vigorously and muttering venomously about how his best friend can be so utterly bitchy in the mornings.

Sasuke merely rolled his eyes in response as he shuffled back to his desk to put away the scroll in his hand not bothering to invite his guest (however unwanted) in. Sensing a scandal or maybe just some good blackmail material, the ANBU tried to intercept the mysterious parcel only to be clocked soundly on the head.

"Go away Naruto!" Sasuke screamed at the ANBU.

"No ! Not unless you tell me what your problem is?" Naruto then proceeded to give that snotty little spoilt brat impersonation. (did a rather good job too)

"Get out!"

" AWW! Come on tell me maybe I can help!" Naruto pouted and gave his best rendition of the infamous "Uzumaki puppy-dog eyes"™.

Exhausted and completely helpless towards the disgustingly adorable blond he rubbed the bridge of his nose and conceded, "Okay, if I tell you will you shut up and get out of my house?" Naruto nodded excitedly in response.

"I cannot have Uchiha heirs..." Sasuke murmured softly.

"What! WHY!"

"Because the sharingan is a sex-linked trait!" he flared, losing complete control of his temper at the stupid, loud blockhead of a best friend.

"Er…so?"

Suddenly the urge to strangle the dumb blond (no offence to blondes just this one dumb blond) came back in full force.

"It…means…Naruto…,"trying his best to collect himself again whilst he explained. "That only girls can pass down the trait for sharingan and boys can't. Is that simple enough for you?"

"…" Naruto was speechless for once in his entire 23 years of existence.

"Yes Naruto, and I'm not a girl so I cannot have heirs. Itachi didn't leave any other female relative alive so the chances of someone else producing Uchiha heirs is nil" Sasuke slumped down and buried his face in his knees. His dreams were crushed, nothing can save the Uchiha clan now.

"Oi Uchiha don't cry about it. Why don't we ask Tsunade-obaachan for help? She should know bout this stuff, right?" Naruto chirped as he placed a loud smack on Sasuke's back.

"Mm..not crying! And I'm not asking for help from the Godaime of all people!" rubbing his abused back he tried to make for the door before his friend gets one of his "bright ideas".

Naruto however managed to cut him off completely from his path of escape and hoisted the dark-haired jounin onto his shoulders heading straight for the Hokage's Tower with his captive kicking and screaming all the way through.

(End)

Hey people, I got a serious difficulty. This fanfic may be too ambitious for me to continue due to the nature of the story. If you guys want me to continue please drop some reviews and ideas maybe a few people to help me along the way.


	2. Advice

Hey thanks to those who reviewed the fanfiction. I shall now try to answer the reviews!(rolls up sleeves)

HarbringerLady : Thank you for your kind appreciation and your wonderful suggestion. I shall try to make sure to incorporate your idea into it too.:) I hope you would continue reading and helping me with this fic and if you would like to beta it …all the better. smiles

Cianna GreenWood: Thank you for encouraging me to write more, truth is I erm..haven't written a narrative in 5 years or more. Yeah education forces you to write the boring argumentative over and over again. I'll try not to irk you with male pregnancies but I can try making Sasuke a woman. I was impressed with one mpreg fic though, its "Side Effects" by Chibi-Risu chan I think. Rather well written.

Tsugath: Yeah I think I saw that fic. And hopefully no this fanfic will not go too close to that. This fanfic will have a lot less smut for one, sorry I can't write lemons, and I wanna go deeper into the issues. The whys and the hows, I don't like to leave the fanfiction with too little detail like, this happened go figure. The fic was suppose to be a lot more serious, just don't know why the humour got tangled up in it!

And to those who did review and didn't get their reviews posted I thank you very much for trying. I'm sorry I accidentally set the review button to no unsigned reviews but I've fixed that now. So please review again, it would work this time. :D

Disclaimer: Same as last I don't own Naruto or his friends.

Author's note: I apologize, I realize that it was unfair for me to ask whether I should carry on with the fanfic when I hardly even gotten the plot moving. I've decided to write at least 1 more chapter other then this before I ask for the public's opinion whether to kill the fic or not. But please if you think I should continue beyond chapter 3 please review and tell me what you think I'm open to suggestions as long as its constructive.

Chapter 2: Advice

The Fifth Hokage had just finished a hard day of carrying out her responsibilities to the people of Konoha. Duties that ranged from filing essential papers, berating a perverted Sannin for peeping at the ladies' baths to executing S-class criminals and protecting the village from the onslaught of killer Sound Nins and their pet snakes. Needless to say after such a fulfilling day, she was completely exhausted to say the very least. She heaved a sigh of utmost relief as she collapsed into her swiveling Hokage's chair and slumped onto her desk for some much needed beauty rest, she couldn't/wouldn't stand to have some of her wrinkles showing through her jutsu.

She closed her eyes and started drifting off towards the first stage of slumber, relaxing to the sound of birds chirping and leaves rustling and Kotetsu screaming her name, how relaxing… wait Kotetsu is really screaming her name! She shot up suddenly as one of her most trusted secretaries burst through the door hollering about something she couldn't quite comprehend through her sleep-deprived head. "Something Naruto, something problem, something coming here", echoed in her head, yes definitely incomprehensible.

Kotetsu's hysterical blabbering was abruptly cut off when the door behind him came to rest painfully upon him after being kicked down by yours truly future Hokage carrying a very unhappy Uchiha Sasuke.

Suddenly Kotetsu was struck by the urge to resign all over again. Forget Izumo, he wasn't going to stick around and endure the needless persecution and exploitation once Naruto comes into power. Yes! He was no pushover, he won't stick around and be the Hokage's bitc…unfortunately Kotetsu's inner ramblings came to an end when Naruto decided to stand on the fallen door rendering the ill-fated secretary unconscious (something the fifth Hokage secretly wished to be at this very moment).

"What do you want Naruto? Why do you always have to abuse my staff and property on a regular basis and please put Sasuke down, he looks like he is going to throw a hissy fit." Tsunade hissed, the exasperation too difficult to hide.

"Tsunade-obaachan!"shrieked the little blond brat with little regard for time and place. "Sasuke needs your help! He needs to become a girl so he can have Uchiha babies." Naruto proclaimed proudly as he unceremoniously dumped his bundle onto the floor. Grinning smugly at Sasuke who was currently scowling darkly back at him.

"What you mean by that!" Even the sleep-deprived mind of the Hokage did a double-take on that announcement.

" I don't know much really." confessed Naruto at which Sasuke rolled his eyes and grumbled softly to himself "big surprise".

" Why don't you ask Sasuke, I think he knows. Kept talking in amazingly complex sentences."

" Okay that's it, I've had enough. Naruto go sit in the corner and shut up and you Uchiha explain yourself!" thundered a thoroughly annoyed and finally awake Tsunade-sama.

Naruto looked like he was going to start World War III right there in the office he actually might one day use, that was until Sasuke clocked him on the head and pointed to the corner, glaring for good measure. The brash blond took the hint, rubbing his abused head he started towards the corner with a kicked puppy look and the biggest pout he could muster.

(scene break ... AN: too lazy to repeat explanation again)

"So that is what this is all about." Tsunade-sama contemplated as she tried to process everything she heard from the last Uchiha.

Sasuke nodded in response.

"Look there may be a way to do it. By reversing the poles of your chakra, we could weaken your masculine energy, the yang, and greatly strengthening the feminine energy, the ying.(1) This way your body can prepare for the operation for gender reassignment, and possibly allow you to fully function as a female."

At this statement, Sasuke felt a glimmer of hope come back into his life, maybe he could even feel a sliver of happiness in his heart. "But the change is going to be permanent." Yes, good feeling gone, hope just scurried out the backdoor of his soul and happiness…well happiness threw itself out the window.

"WHAT! Sasuke is going to be a girl!" Naruto screeched from his corner.

"Shut up dobe!" Sasuke hollered flinging random pointy objects at the corner of the room. Regaining some much-needed self control he faced Tsunade-sama with as much courage as possible, "I'm ready."

"No your not, Sasuke. Gender reassignment is not going to be easy. The reversal of chakra poles may bring about discomfort and the operation may not be as easy to handle. But this is minor for a shinobi, the major problem is how will you react to being a woman and how others will react to you being a woman? Are you prepared to face the possibility that some of your strength will be missing, or that others will see you as a freak? Are you even prepared for motherhood or the much-dreaded monthly issue? You might not even be accepted as a woman and neither as a man, are you ready for the consequences of your decision? There are going to be a lot of changes and going to a different restroom is going to be the least of your concerns."

Sasuke was speechless, he realized that perhaps he hasn't exactly thought this through thoroughly. Suddenly he didn't feel so confident about his decision anymore.

"But…but… obaachan!" Naruto whined realizing that his plan to make Sasuke feel better has backfired. "What about Sasuke's dream to revive his clan?"

"Naruto!" Tsunade boomed. "I don't want you goading Sasuke into going through with this. In fact, I don't want you affecting his decision at all."

That silenced the blond as he turned to regard his best friend with deep concern. He hoped Sasuke will be fine with the proposition but he highly doubted that. Sasuke had and always been proud of his strength, to lose that part of him was akin to losing his purpose for living. Who actually knew that Ice Prince Uchiha Sasuke actually had a self-esteem problem.

"Look, I want you to go home and think about it. And I won't accept an answer until you have given it enough thought and that means no less then 2 weeks."Tsunade reasoned. "I'd give you a longer probation period, but I know by then your decision might be influenced by Naruto."

"Tsunade-baachan!"

And with that the two rivals/best friends shuffled out of the office bickering in friendly recognition. The great Hokage sighed in both relief and resolute despair as Naruto once again has managed to completely destroy/ruin/demolish the once pristine establishment she once called an office with his unexpected and uninvited visits.

...End

1) Taoist believe that the chi or the chakra is made up of two parts, the yang ormale dominant energy and the ying or female sudmissive energy. Both of these energies are complimentary to each other and are symbolized by white and black respectively.


	3. Finding oneself

Hey all readers, the promised 3rd chap is out. Yes Sailor Menz I did give my word to write at least one more chap for this and here it is! Thanks for your support Sailor Menz, very glad for your appreciation.

I really wanted to pull a Houdini on this fic and just run away! smile Not that happy with it, however the side story took off rather well and I have to at least give some background to the side story.

A/N: I don't own Naruto and gang and please pardons the cliches.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

The two men found themselves wandering aimlessly around Konoha's dusty streets in companionable silence. The harsh decision was sinking in and both felt awkward talking about it. Naruto sneaked a peek at Sasuke hoping for a reaction out of the stoic nin, and was greatly amused at the familiar scowl that decorated Sasuke's usually perfect features.

"What are you staring at, dobe?" Sasuke snapped viciously at his blond friend. No one messes with Uchiha Sasuke on a bad day, unless of course you were a fool or have a serious death wish (and I'm talking about those masochistic suicidals too).

"What do think being a girl is like?" Naruto pondered out loud. (Yes I guess it is possible to be a fool with a death wish, an unhealthy combination? Go figure.)

Sasuke jerked to a halt and grabbed Naruto by his collar." Are you trying to make a fool out of me, or do you seriously think this is funny?" he growled.

"Er…no, no, not at all! It's just what Tsunade-obaachan asked us to do seem to make a lot of sense!"

"…"

"And since we ain't got anything better to do, how about we try to investigate that thought?"

'Yes trust the dobe to come up with completely ridiculous lines of reasoning; he always had a questionable disposition for insanity. Perhaps he is schizophrenic after all, explains his horrendously skewed logic and delusions about grandiosity,' Sasuke thought to himself. "And how do you propose we do that?"

"By Oroike-no-jutsu, of course!" Naruto declared smugly.

'No scratch the schizo theory, Naruto just had the mental capabilities of a worm.' Too upset to make a smart remark, Sasuke resorted to just shaking the dear life out of his 'best friend'. "No! You will never get me to use that stupid jutsu of yours, so you can have an excuse to spy on girls!"

* * *

"Why did I agree to this?" Sasuke bemoaned as he fixed his hair and dress for the fifth time. 

"Oh quit whining, this is fun!" the buxom blond with complimentary pig-tails squealed while keeping a close surveillance on the lingerie store across the street.

"You must get this horrendously perverted trait from hanging out with Jiraiya too much."

Naruto didn't reply to that comment, merely grabbing one of Sasuke's hands and dragging him into the store they were "staking out".

* * *

"Welcome ladies to Club Eros, where we sell the most suitable lingerie for kunoichis. For comfort or durability or maybe for some simple, naughty pleasure, we have it all!" the enthusiastic sales lady proclaimed proudly. 

"That has got to be the worst jingle ever." Sasuke muttered under bated breath.

"Ano Sa...Sa…ki-chan," 'nice save' Naruto mentally congratulated himself. "Saki-chan is looking for some nice er…nice …" he twisted his features in assertive contemplation, clearly going through a tip-of-tongue experience, or TOT for short.

"Underwear, usuratonkachi." Sasuke supplied, exasperated with the stupidity of his friend.

"Oh! Your friend is soo gorgeous!" the saleslady fawned over Sasuke, "I bet you are picking something out to impress your koibito right?"

Sasuke didn't feel that the statement she just made sat well with him. In fact, he felt somewhat traumatized. Unsure whether he should throw himself out of the glass window and run like there was no tomorrow or stab the saleslady mercilessly in the gut, he merely stood there looking confused.

"Yeah, I bet he likes lace right Saki-chan?" Naruto added malevolently, sensing a good blackmail opportunity.

'KILL NARUTO!' were the only words that ran through Sasuke's mind, however before he could act upon his innermost desires, the saleslady shoved him into a cubicle and handed him several samples.

"These were just flown in from Stone Country. It's our best line. It would look so perfect on you, your skin is so smooth and fair!" the saleslady just had to add that to seal the deal.

A great crash and several curses later. Naruto got bored.

"Oi Saski-chaan…come out and let us see how you look!" he teased, hoping for an eyeful.

"No..go away!"

"Come on… we are all girls here," Naruto snickered at that.

After a few more minutes of pleading with Sasuke, a small click resounded and the cubicle's reluctant occupant emerged dressed in nothing more then black lace.

'Oh man! Sasuke is HOT!' Naruto squeaked. Unable to hold his chakra and self-control any longer, he deactivated his transformation and tried his best to hold in a severe nose bleed.

"What is the meaning of this?" the confused saleslady demanded, shocked that one of her 'female' customers suddenly turned into a man.

Sasuke felt greatly pleased that he managed to make a fool of Naruto, and with a smirk disappeared back into the cubicle. (Yes, let Naruto deal with the saleslady by himself.)

'Strangely, it felt nice to get that kind of appreciation…wait scratch that, reaction out of Naruto,' Sasuke smiled at the thought.

* * *

He emerged from the cubicle still in his feminine form (no way will he ever let on that Uchiha Sasuke went to a lingerie store) and handed the samples back to the saleslady who was busy reprimanding Naruto for playing such a tasteless joke on her. Naruto merely apologized further and with shoulders slumped and pout in place was making full use of the "Uzumaki Puppy Look™". 

Sasuke quickly exited the store, fully intending to ditch Naruto and run. However his friend was quick to resolve his situation and caught up with him in seconds.

"Sasuke-teme that was mean!" he complained.

Sasuke merely smirked at that suggestion.

"For that you are hereby ordered to make up to your best friend by taking him to the festival tomorrow." Naruto grinned.

"What? You only want me to do that because no girl will ever go out with you." Sasuke sputtered.

Naruto didn't answer to that immediately, averting his face discreetly. Sasuke realized that his words struck a chord in his friend's heart, seeing his blu eyes fill up with emotion.

"Yeah, no girl ever liked me or probably will ever love me," the blond unconsciously moved his hand over his navel as he spoke. "Maybe I was just trying tofool myself. Why hope for someone to love you when you can't even love yourself?"

Sasuke rarely saw this side of the fox Anbu, this was the true Naruto the one he was searching for since he first grew close to the blond. He felt greatly distressed at how he'd actually hurt his most precious friend. "Naruto, I'll go with you to the festival, tomorrow." Sasuke spoke in a serious tone. "Those girls don't know what a great guy they're missing out on." And that was the honest truth.

Those blue eyes immediately regained their sparkle at those words his friend spoke. "Thank you, Sasuke," Naruto cried as he gave his touch-averse friend the biggest hug from the bottom of his heart.

* * *

End

Whoa 3 chapters longest I've ever gone on.

Yeah I know the fic is kinda mediocre in standard, do forgive I truly am a newbie. But I truly appreciate your comments all on this fic as well as the broken cradle. I'm not trying to be difficult by asking you all to review if you want me to continue. Its just that I get discouraged easily if I feel that my work is not appreciated. Low self-esteem? perhaps.

So please leave a review for this struggling newbie who hasn't wrote a narrative in 5 years. Thank you. peace :D


	4. evening came too soon

Thank you for all your great reviews! I really was encouraged to continue by your great reviews.

Seika: Oh wow I had no idea! And yeah I recently experienced a completely no review on one of my fics "the fox and the hound" so I guess this means that this fic and its side story is doing pretty well.

Queen of Paperclips: thank you for your review, don't worry I think I should continue for a while longer.

Alterhybrid: thank you for your review

13x : thank you for your review and ?

BloodMistress: thank you for you appreciation

MinaVarsa: I am very flattered by your statement and I will try my best.

SailorMenz: thank you for your comment about my grammar and stuff. Yes the last chapter was a little rushed.

I hope you all will continue to support my work, even though you guys know there would probably be another chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and gang.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Evening came too soon for one Uchiha Sasuke. He had searched through every single nook and cranny of his cramped and colour coded wardrobe for something appropriate to wear. Unfortunately, all his clothing were either to downright masculine to stand up to scrutiny or had the Uchiha's clan symbol none too discreetly emblazoned on the back. Naruto was going to come by to drag him off to the festival in an hour, he needed clothes and he needed them fast.

Suddenly it hit him, his mother owned a couple of kimonos that were stored away in the attic. Just perfect timing too. He quickly rushed up to the attic armed with only a broom to fend off those pesky dust bunnies. Sasuke reached out to open a chest long forgotten, with memories he thought he had dealt with a millennia ago.

He reached into the antediluvian chest and carefully lifted out a beautiful black silk kimono with delicate chrysanthemum embroidery lovingly sewn into it. It had been his mother's favourite kimono and she had worn it only on special occasions. Pressing his face into the clothing, he could make out a slight peach scent that reminded him so much of his mother. Memories of his childhood flooded back and emotions he tried so hard to lock away came rushing back with untold ferocity. Memories of his mother's touch, his mother's love, his mother's sweet words and his mother's care stung his heart and his eyes. Suddenly it occurred to him, will he ever be as good a mother as his own? He could almost see her now calling out to him, "Sasuke…Sasuke…"

"Sasuke?" a quiet concerned whisper broke his nostalgic illusions. "Are you alright?"

Sasuke swung his head around looking for the source of interruption, only to find a blond head bob up from the small entrance between the floorboards.

"I'm okay Naruto. I'll be down in a second," he choked out as he tried to fight back the tears.

Instead of going back downstairs, the blond intruder merely moved closer to Sasuke's crouching form sensing his friend's great distress.

"Naruto, I'm okay. I can take care of myself. I swear I'm fine," Sasuke babbled in increasing nervousness, never wanting his friend/rival see him like this.

Naruto refused to back down, merely hushed the broken Uchiha and gathered Sasuke into his arms. Gently running one of his hands through his friend's midnight locks and the other hand gently rubbing his back in a soothing manner he spoke softly, "It's okay to cry Sasuke. Let it out, you're not weak, you never were."

Sasuke took that as a reassurance to his already battered pride, and for the first time in a long while, dropped his guard and let himself weep openly in Naruto's arms.

* * *

Smoothing down the folds of the kimono, Sasuke admired the beauty of the cascading fabric at his feet.

"Are you done yet?" a familiar whine echoed outside his bedroom door. "Can I come in yet?"

Sasuke smirked; Naruto sure seemed excited about this. "Come in dobe."

A bashful-looking Naruto peeped in through a small crack in the door. "Yes I'm decent!" Sasuke yelled and a relieved Uzumaki swung the door open and stepped in.

"Woah!" was the all Naruto could think of when he took in the wonder before him.

"Do I look that ridiculous, dobe?" Sasuke asked, annoyed at Naruto's excessive gawking.

"No, no! You look great! You're going to be the hottest girl there! And you don't even need to use oiroke-no-jutsu too," he grinned and ducked to avoid a suspiciously accurate kunai aimed at his cheeky face.

* * *

End. 

Please help a struggling newbie writer and leave a review. You have no idea how much my heart soars in anticipation of your kind words.


	5. Festivals and Fun

Thank you all for the reviews, very touched by your apreciation!

Bloodmistress: Yes that part was fluffy and angtsy, I liked it too.

Naruto-Ni chan : Thanks a ton for your appreciation, but I didn't quite think this particular fanfic was fantastic. But yes every review builds my confidence, thank you so much.

Lost ninja: yeah Sasuke is HOT!

Mitch: thanks for the comment bout the end thing. The end means the end of the chapter.

Seika: I'll try to continue as long as I feel that it is wanted. Sometimes I get demoralized and don't update for weeks. Forgive me!

Harbringer Lady: it's so wonderful to hear from returning reviewers! Please continue to support this fic.

Riekoish: I'll try to make the chapters longer if I continue (see A/N for explanation) and I'll email you about the beta thing, soon I hope. (I tend to procrastinate on anything that isn't school work. bad habit)

Angelsinheaven87: yeah I wanted to make the characters in the story more human. Trouble is i'm afraid that they may get too OOC.

Reki-chan: I aim for originality, though I seldom achieve it (cries)

Author's Note: I have a confession to make, yes please don't hurt me. I only knew that there was another chapter because I wrote a chapter that was too long. So I cut it into half, published the first part in chap 4 and the second in chap 5. So now its back to me having no idea how fast I want to take the story and how I want to continue. Please forgive ! Oh by the way, cfox and sailorMenz are you guys still reading the fic? You guys kinda didn't show up for the last chapter, scared me a whee bit.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and gang.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Walking down the lane where the festival was taking place in his disguise was a truly enlightening experience for the usually solitary Uchiha.

He was amazed at the bright lights, bright colours and the yukata clad blond walking beside him. He couldn't help but appreciate how dashing Naruto looked in his azure coloured outfit that complimented his eyes so well. The blue-eyed shinobi had left his awkward teens behind, growing into a fine young man under tutelage of the legendary toad Sennin. Ever since he reached eighteen, he had lost his baby fat and became leaner and more muscular. Reaching an unusual height of six feet six, he towered above most in Konoha. Sasuke thought it was strange that very little of the female population noticed what a treasure he was, hiding right underneath their nose. If they'd just stop to notice him, they'd realize what a hunk Naruto had grown into.

He averted his focus and his gaze away from the fox Anbu. It just was not right to think of Naruto that way, they were friends, intimate but friends nonetheless.

"You want that stuffed animal Saki-chan?" a smooth baritone voice brought him out of his musings for the second time in that day. However it was the feeling of a warm calloused hand weaving its fingers through his own that really started him.

He quickly shot Naruto an early warning about being so close, but Naruto merely smiled warmly and reassured him that it was all part of the experience.

"So you want that stuffed animal? You kept looking at it just now."

"I was not, usuratonkachi!"

"Oh come on, let me do something for you! If I go out with a beautiful girl the least I can do is run laps and act like her dog for the day. Please Saki-chan, it's my greatest dream!"

"Your greatest dream is to be exploited by a female? I thought it was to be Hokage?" Sasuke asked in utmost disbelief.

"Well yeah after that dream."

Sasuke mulled over that intriguing piece of information. Maybe it wasn't so bad being woman. He could feel the overwhelming power over men right now, and it was absolutely deliiciiousss…

Naruto was concerned by that power hungry look in Sasuke's eyes at that very moment. He remembered seeing it only one time before… at the Valley of the End. Deciding whether he should make a break for it, he was suddenly accosted by Sakura and her husband, Lee.

"Wow Naruto! Who is that pretty lady on your arm eh?" Sakura teased mercilessly, this was going to be going through the grapevine within minutes.

"Yes, such delicate beauty only appears once in a man's youthful life!" Lee proclaimed, offending both Sasuke and his jealous wife.

It was then Sakura proceeded to pound the living daylights out of her ratherrepentant husband, leaving Naruto and Sasuke to beat a hasty retreat.

* * *

Suddenly along the one of the many lanes, Sasuke felt a foreboding presence nearby. Glancing to his right, he could see a large group of…FANGIRLS! Oh the absolute horror! He closed in eyes and braced himself for the squeals, the shrieks, the manhandling. He waited and waited but nothing, absolutely nothing. Curious he peeked and tightened his grip round Naruto's arm. If anything happens, his best friend will serve as his best decoy (it's a sacrifice he was willing to take). It was quiet, too quiet, in fact a fangirl just walked right past him without any vicious mauling. "They don't recognize me!" he thought gleefully grinning in a demented manner. "No more Sasuke-kun, no more groping, no more awe-struck stares and who could forget no more people begging him to go out with them!" 

"Will you go out with me please?" widening his eyes in disbelief, Sasuke turned around to see a man cowering at her feet, lifted hands offered up beautiful flowers. He sighed in exasperation, how could he forget the fanboys? A large crowd of them had surrounded him while he was too busy gloating over the loss of his fangirls, he silently berated his carelessness.

"Go out with me my ultimate beauty, for such is the great joy of youth!"

"Your lips are like a red red rose, so let me kiss them!"

"Guys I hate to burst your bubble but Saki-chan is with me. So please BACK OFF!" growled a rather annoyed Naruto who marched right in front of one hopeful suitor and cracked his menacing knuckles a few centimetres away from his face.

Sasuke couldn't help but blush at such an outward display of machismo possessiveness. It was always nice to be fought over, did his ego such good (though he would never admit it). However he couldn't quite place why Naruto could make him feel so special sometimes.

"Don't mind them Saki-chan," Naruto grinned as he spoke. "Let's ditch this festival and go someplace less crowded."

Sasuke nodded in agreement, he couldn't quite tolerate the milling crowds either.

* * *

"The view here is amazing right, Sasuke?" Naruto asked jovially as he stretched himself out on the grassy hillock that overlooked the bustling festival. 

"Hnn…"

"Yeah, I like the lights too Sasuke-teme," the tall blond laughed. Lengthy missions and the surprisingly close friendship with his mission partner had allowed Naruto to decipher the basics of Sasukenese aka the strange grunts Sasuke utters.

Strangely, being alone together was always comfortable. When it was just the two of them, they need not keep up pretences. There was little need for masks or illusions, it is as if sometimes they could see right into each other's soul.

"Sasuke," Naruto spoke in such a serious tone that the Uchiha was forced to stop his sight seeing and focus solely on his companion. "I know that Tsunade-obaachan said that I cannot affect your decision but I just want to tell you that no matter what you choose to be, you will always be Sasuke to me. My rival, my friend, the biggest jerk in the whole world and the second strongest shinobi in all of Konoha."

Sasuke smiled at this touching yet strangely out of character display. "Only second strongest?" he teased, raising an eyebrow to add effect to his statement.

"Yeah after me of course!" came the familiar boisterous reply.

"Dobe," Sasuke smirked at his friend's tomfoolery, "Thank you …"

* * *

End of chapter. 

Please continue to support this struggling newbie writer with your wonderful reviews. The next chapter's creation is all dependant on your input and encouragement. So do you all want the fanfic to move faster or continue this pace? Do you want to see female Sasuke next chap or you guys won't mind one more chap of male Sasuke?


	6. The walk Home

Another chapter completed. Sorry for the immensely long wait. The recent chapter of "the broken cradle" had the worst number of hits and reviews, which was very discouraging. Wanted to up and leave but this particular fic had a lot of reviews from fans so it made it difficult for me to quit. Felt like I was letting down a lot of people. So this chappie is dedicated to you guys who have reviewed:

**Rekie-chan, cfox, Momo, the troublesome twins, Kanemoshi, Kurisuteru-chan, Isarandel, whiterose03, Mai, Kaiyo no Hime and Generally Maz.**

**Thank you all.**

Due to the fact that after every reboot of the website or something my hits counter gets wiped, I'd really appreciate if you'd leave a review to let me know that the fic is alive.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and co.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Sasuke allowed Naruto to walk him home after the festival as was customary for a date. However as they were at the threshold of the Uchiha compound, Sasuke realized that he really did not want to end this day. Naruto was smiling so brilliantly and his hand was so warm… hand? Naruto had held his hand all the way home, Sasuke blushed at the revelation. 'Why is he making me feel this way?' Sasuke mused.

"Erm….Sasuke?"

Sasuke was startled from his thoughts and looked up to see a surprisingly nervous Uzumaki.

"Sasuke, I erm..really had a wonderful time. I really wish that we could do this again. I mean erm..maybe you don't need to dress up next time. Erm..er..I .."

Sasuke smirked when Naruto blushed deeply and started rambling. 'He is acting like he was speaking to his crush,' Sasuke thought to himself.

"Dobe, it was fun. Lets do this again."

"Really! Yatta! Good night Sasuke, see you tomorrow!" Naruto gave a loud whoop and bent towards Sasuke, suddenly remembering that the "girl" might be pissed with him if he dared give a customary end of date kiss he drew back rather reluctantly.

Sasuke was slightly disappointed that Naruto didn't give him a goodnight kiss, however he didn't let it show on his face…much. After he bade Naruto goodnight and watch him literally bounce out of sight, Sasuke finally unlocked his door and went inside. Pausing to re-secure his door, he finally heaved a sigh of relief and ambled slowly towards his bedroom. Sasuke was after all exhausted from the long night out.

Stripping and discarding his clothing along the way, he finally arrived in his bedroom in his boxers and promptly fell into the comfortable lump of his bed. He nuzzled into the soft comforter and felt its soft hair tickle his nose. Soft hair? When did his bed grow hair and when did his soft bed get so boney? He quickly grabbed his kunai which was conveniently placed on his bedstand and flicked the bedlamp on.

"NARUTO! What are you doing here…in my bed?" (Naruto must've ported into the apartment.)

"Mhhmm…..Sasuke so loud. I'm sleeping…" drool…..

"ARhhh! Get UP and get OUT USURATonKATCHI!"

"Huh?" Naruto was wide awake after the last outburst "Wait Sasuke I got locked out of my place!"

"So?"

"So, I needed a place to sleep"

"SO!"

"I thought I could crash at your place?"

"So you let yourself into MY house and decided to make yourself comfortable in MY bed without MY permission!"

"Erm…I ate your food too?"

"…"

"Ok, ok I'll leave." Naruto pouted and got up from the bed. Throwing on his clothes carelessly, Naruto grudgingly got out of the bed and trudged towards the door.

Sasuke fought his conscience, trying to quell the guilt from eating away at his heart. Alas it was all in vain.

"Dobe." He deadpanned as Naruto looked back at Sasuke's address. "It can't be helped. You are a total moron. You can stay but only in your usual room, no bunking with me!"

"Yatta! Sasuke-teme sugoi!" (roughly translated: yeah! Sasuke bastard is great!")

And with a sudden burst of energy, bounded out of the room into the furnished guest quarters, that surprisingly had a lived in feel.

* * *

It was an open secret that the blond hokage candidate spent a lot of time in his best friend's house but it was difficult to comprehend why he would actually sleep over all the time. 

The truth is Naruto was lonely. He always begged for missions because he was afraid of going home to an empty apartment. When he and Sasuke became friendlier with each other he practically moved into the empty guest bedroom next to Sasuke's room.

He liked it here and secretly Sasuke liked the arrangement too.

Sasuke liked waking up to the sound of another living person puttering about the house. He liked the idea of making breakfast for two. He particularly enjoyed the sound of another person's voice in his otherwise hauntingly quiet home. Though he'd rather cut his tongue out then admit all that.

They were friends, teammates, partners and rivals. They complimented the other in every possible way, personality, appearance, skills and lifestyle. Though they'd fight a lot, argue at every possible opportunity and stepped on each other's toes, they genuinely respected the other and both were secretly very afraid they'd lose the other.

* * *

End of Chapter. 

Sorry people who wanted to see a female Sasuke apparently I got caught describing the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke. Please forgive! Please continue to keep this fic alive and encourage a struggling newbie writer who can sometimes feel a little low the in esteem department by keeping your reviews flowing. Thank you:)


	7. Kakashi, You Fiend!

Yes readers,

Its another chapter of the happily fluffy and unashamedly WAFFY "the sun starts from the east". Yoho Yoho! and yes I found some unfortunate errors so i reposted with corrections.

I want to thank, **Naruke, Naruto's underwear XD, Shadow Kitsune67, Uzamaki Liliana, half-demon628, Queen of Spain, evilchild666, Your Mom's Face, firebretaher339(x3), Sweetsong, fruitbasketfreak , Queen of Paperclips and Xenos tiger **for reviewing this story.

I also would like to add that I'm also very thankful for the comments and advice submitted for "the Fox and the Hound", please continue to aid me in my stories even this one. Yoroshiku oneigaishimasu

Oh and another artwork for this at:

www. deviantart. com / deviation / 26436771 / (remember to remove the spaces in between)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and gang.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

The fifth Hokage rose early to start the day, she had a lot of things to take care off and she wanted to carry them out before a certain irritating successor showed up for missions. As she walked into her spacious office she just had to admire the grandeur of her surroundings; the grand rosewood bookcases, the opulent desk with intricate carvings, the finest bearskin rug imported from Snow Country, a Sasuke in her best leather swiveling chair …

Sasuke? She didn't remember him being part of the décor. She sighed, she could feel the melancholy filtering into her soul. 'What does the Uchiha want in the ungodly hours of the morning?' she thought.

"Sasuke, it should be a crime to see your brooding face so early in the morning!" she muttered in frustration. "And where is that blond brat that follows you around like a pet dog?"

"I left him at home with breakfast. I didn't want him interrupting our conversation." Sasuke stated in a somber tone.

Tsunade regarded him sharply with a critical eye before sighing and motioning for the Uchiha to get out of her beloved chair.

"I take it that this is about the operation?" Tsunade interrogated.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I think I'll …go through with it," Sasuke said with a hint of uncertainty, creasing his brows into a frown.

"WHAT? You didn't tell me anything!" a loud shout echoed from the rafters above as a rather large blond 'rat' suddenly poked his head out of the ceiling.

"Naruto! What are you doing here? I thought Sasuke left you at home with food?" Tsunade asked in genuine surprise. Apparently the blond brat's stealth skill has dramatically improved to elude both the Hokage and the last Uchiha.

"He did! But there wasn't any ramen around, it was all like eggs and bacon and stuff. So I went to get some," the blond ANBU replied.

"Those are real food I prepared, dobe. And that's a lousy excuse! Ichiraku's is ten miles down the road! I left you at home for a reason," Sasuke said trying his best to keep his cool, although Naruto has a special ability that lets him get under Sasuke's skin all the time.

"But Sasuke, don't you think it's a little too soon for the operation?"

"Naruto!" Tsunade cuts in, "this is Sasuke's decision not yours."

"But…but its too DANGEROUS!"

Sasuke huffed at the remark and was about to retort when a sudden gust of leaves and wind swept into the office leaving behind a silver-haired jounin.

"I agree with Naruto! It's too dangerous for Sasuke!" Kakashi stated with great conviction and artful finesse.

"Did Kakashi-sensei hang out with Gai for too long again?" Naruto voiced his concerns out loud.

"Hnn…" (I bet you can guess who this is)

"That is why I propose we test out the procedure on a volunteer," Kakashi continued. "After all the Uchiha's possess a bloodline too rare to waste on a failed experiment."

Such Machiavellian reasoning sat well with the ninja-trained, earning enthusiastic nods from his audience.

"…therefore I volunteer," Kakashi said with manly tears flowing from his one eye. Everyone was compelled to feel the gravity of his sacrifice. (Oh the melodrama! Bring on the crashing waves in the background.)

"…Iruka to go for the operation!" Kakashi chirped out the last part of his speech earning a couple of very, very shocked faces.

"WHAT THE &#$ IS WRONG WITH YOU!" Naruto roared at the idiotic scarecrow. No one is going to use his beloved sensei as a guinea pig. Sasuke merely covered his face with his hands; anybody would be ashamed to say that Kakashi is their teacher. Tsunade looked like she was going to dock his wages.

The fiendish Kakashi merely grinned under his mask and ported out of the room only to reappear quickly with a confused Iruka-sensei in his arms.

"Huh? Oh good morning everyone!" Iruka smiled and greeted amiably. "Why am I here?"

'Oh, you poor uninformed soul!' everyone thought.

* * *

And now we break for an Interlude due to the graphic violence of the programming. 

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-

-

-

-

-

During the Interlude : Iruka was informed of their erm…I mean Kakashi's decision.

Proceeding from this, there was a major Kakashi-bashing sequence kindly or not so kindly demonstrated by Iruka-sensei and his trusty sidekick Naruto.

-

-

-

-

And now we return to the regular programming.

* * *

Now that Kakashi lay in a battered pile of twitching mass, Iruka can finally take full control of his situation. 

"Tsunade-sama, I think I will volunteer to test out the kinjutsu (forbidden technique)," Iruka said to the amazement of the whole room.

"But Iruka-sensei, the operation is permanent." Naruto pleaded with his father-figure to reconsider.

"It's ok Naruto. I always wanted children of my own; it has been my dream since I lost my family. But since I found Kakashi I always thought that it was an impossibility." Iruka smiled and hugged Naruto who rested his head upon Iruka's shoulders. "If this operation works, I can finally see the faces of my own children. Now isn't that wonderful."

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto choked out as he embraced Iruka in a tender hug, causing Sasuke to glare hatefully at Iruka's back and Kakashi trying to pry his darling away from his overgrown 'son'.

"Okay Iruka we will try out the kinjutsu on you tomorrow. Please be prepared for it," Tsunade merely stated the basics, she knew beyond a doubt both Kakashi and Iruka must've thought about this for a long time in order for them to make so huge a decision.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto were back at the Uchiha compound eating dinner in total silence. Naruto had tried to apologize for his meddling but the haughty Uchiha would hear none of it. 

"Sasuke! I said I'm sorry already. Would you quit ignoring me!"

"Hnn…"

"Oh come on Sasuke, I only said that because I was worried about you."

"Worried!" Sasuke snapped flinging his chopsticks at Naruto with deadly accuracy. "I'm a ninja, I'm beyond your worry dobe! I understood all the risks involved in this endeavor."

"I wasn't worried about that teme…" Naruto muttered under his breath.

"then what were you worried about?"

"Oh..erm…nothing, nothing at all!"

"Spill it usuratonkachi or I'm not cooking ramen for you again ever!"

"Okay, okay…I give," Naruto blushed as he replied. "I was worried I won't be able to crash at your place again after the op."

"And why is that dobe?"

"Cause you'd be a girl and they all said that's improper for a guy and a girl to stay together…" Naruto blushed even harder as he whispered his explanation.

"I don't care about what they say."

"Huh? But Sasu…"

"I don't care, they are not related to me. But you are my best friend, so they can talk all they want but I won't let you move out anyway."

Naruto stared incredulously at Sasuke, did he just hear the ice-prince grow a heart? Naruto felt really touched that the usually icy Uchiha had actually called him his best friend (without killing or maiming him after).

"Thank you Sasuke," Naruto smiled warmly at his best friend and perhaps, since Iruka found Kakashi, his only family too. To have someone to come home to is perhaps a shinobi's most prized dream, and for many of them, quite unattainable. He never wanted to feel the loneliness of an empty apartment on a cold dreary night again, and if Sasuke would still keep him, maybe he won't have to face that for a lifetime. "That means a lot to me …"

* * *

End of chapter 

Arhh… so sorry everyone! I had to add that kakairu moment cause of character restructuring aka I need to fit in more characters for later fics. And erm…I know the fic degenerated into chap 2 but fear not the torture is done I'm done with the explaining crap well for now anyways. Arhh please review and tell me what you think about this chapter and please give any ideas you'd like to see running around this fic. This newbie writer just wants to say thank you for your reviews and kind comments. :D

To Naruke who threatened me to continue, I threaten you to review! XD

To Naruto's underwear, yes your reviews means tons to me. I tresure em up and read em again on a cold rainy day.

To Shadow Kitsune67, yes it gives me that happy little buzz that can only happen when I'm reading or writing comedic fluff.

To Uzamaki Liliana, thank you for your comment but unfortunately I have to apologize again for not being able to make my chaps go beyond 2000 words.

To halfdemon628, thank you I'm glad you found it cute. I found it cute too!

To queen of spain, you my dear friend will have to be roped in for more work as beta but thank you for your wacky comments and looking through my half-baked ideas. (will do a sasunaru dj with ya one day)

To evilchild666, arhh I love your suggestion. I will definitely put it to use.

To Your Mom's face, yes Sasuke with a period. BEWARE! Like Sasuke couldn't be bitchier, mwahahahaha!

To firebretaher339, thank your for reviewing 3 times. I was very happy. Thank you so much.

To sweetsong, awww I love the "Naruto and his cute little wife" comment. Please read on to see their relationship progress.

To fruitbasketfreak, yes they will remain friends as well as rivals. I don't think I'll change their characters too much.

To queen of Paperclips, thank you returning reviewer. Please continue to find this fic a joy.

To Xenos tiger, sorry man I suck at writing chapters past 2000 and erm…I'm squeamish at yaoi, I'm a shounen-ai purist. Sorry much.


	8. Conversation over Coffee

Hello readers, it's the 8th Chapter! Wow I really did not believe I could go this long. Anyways I really like to thank you all my reviewers, who responded to my last chapter.

A Big Thank you To : Queen of the Paperclips, evilchild666, Uzumaki Liliana, Naruto of the Leafs, Generally Maz, half-demon628, Shadow Kitsune67, Ivan's Kitsune, salhievig, pingpan, Queen of Spain and Red Asatari.

This is my author's plea: Dear readers of this fic, help make this one silly little dream of mine come true and help me achieve 100 reviews by this chapter. Let's all help make this fic into a success :D. So please give me anything you got, criticisms, praise, pairings that you'd like to see or things that you hope that you'll never see in your lifetime (like Orochimaru dancing naked with toads all over his body or something like that) or maybe constructive creative ideas you'd like me to add into the fic. Just throw em all at me and watch me try to answer all your reviews (actually I probably will). Thank you all for your patience with me :D !

Disclaimer: I don't Naruto and his band of merry men. (that sounded so gay)

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Naruto awoke in his comfortable guest room early in the morning to the sounds of his annoying alarm clock, an early Christmas gift from Iruka-sensei. Still drowsy and unfocused, he pushed off his warm bed and went to brush his teeth before wandering into the kitchen for his morning cup of coffee.

"Morning Sasu… Yawn…"

"Hnn…" was the curt reply from his rather morning-averse housemate who shifted a cup of piping hot coffee into Naruto's eager hands.

"Yo, Sasuke, heard that the operation was a success for Iruka-sensei."

"Hnn…" (Sasuke hasn't quite woken up yet.)

"So…you still up for it?"

"Without a doubt dobe," Sasuke grunted in annoyance.

"I wonder if Kakashi is jumping for joy now. That guy may not look like it but he's a sucker for kids."

"Hnn…I bet Iruka-sensei will demand a ring on her finger before she let's Kakashi go all the way."

"Iruka-sensei is a she now, boy that'll take a lot of getting used too."

"Yeah whatever floats their boat."

"You're probably right, Sasuke-teme. Yet I wonder what does Iruka-sensei see in that pervert jounin. They are as different as night and day."

"Can't you tell usuratonkachi? They are more similar then they let on."

"Are they?" Naruto pulled his face into a grimace trying hard to think of a single similarity in both of his ex-teachers.

"Don't hurt yourself, moron," Sasuke sneered.

"I'm not a moron, teme!"

Sasuke smirked at the familiar nickname. "Look, Kakashi and Iruka both lost their parents early in their childhood. Therefore they both feel the same kind of pain and loneliness. Kakashi and Iruka both are extremely loyal to a fault, both have felt the loss of their most trusted companions; one through self-sacrifice the other through betrayal. They both believe in the cultivation and the education of the next generation." Sasuke gave a proud nod in approval of his clever deductive reasoning.

"Hmm…so all the couples out there are somewhat similar to each other?" Naruto looked unconvinced.

"Yes!"

"What about Sakura and Lee?"

"Hmm… that may be a little difficult to say. They both are resolutely stubborn; believe strongly that hard work can overcome their respective handicaps and I must say that is has worked out for them both."

Naruto pondered on that piece of information, still nursing his warm cup of coffee. "That's true," he finally replied, "but then what about Ino and Shikamaru."

"Dobe, I'm a prodigy not a miracle worker!"

Naruto merely chuckled at that outburst, finally gulping down his already luke-warm beverage.

"Oh I forgot," Naruto mentally admonished himself. "Sakura said we are to meet with her at lunch. She wants to visit Iruka-sensei together with us. Like a Group 7 thing!"

"Hnn…"

"Aww come on, I know you wanna see how she's doing too, anti-social jerk."

"Whatever dobe. Just remember to do something about that five o'clock shadow that is threatening to show."

"Aww…kuso! I just shaved 2 weeks ago!"

* * *

Meanwhile in hospital room 706, a rather exhausted looking dolphin sensei was recuperating whilst her overly exasperating lover puttered about trying to make her stay as comfortable as possible.

It was mostly "Iruka do you need me to fluff your pillow?", "Iruka do you want me to get you a warmer cup of coffee?", "Iruka do you want me to suck your toes?". However it was the "Iruka do you need me to wash your back … and everywhere else?" that finally broke the proverbial camel's back.

"NO, Kakashi-san! I don't need you to wash me. I can do that myself."

"You sure?"

"YES, I'm sure! I'm not infirmed! Anyway what is wrong with you today? You seem more nervous than usual."

"Ack!" Kakashi exclaimed as the former ANBU unceremoniously dumped the cup of coffee he was trying to warm all over himself. "I'm not nervous!"

"That is what we call denial," Iruka stated in her firm teacher tone.

" Okay you got me." Kakashi sighed knowing full well that the game is up. "Iruka we've been together for years now and I really like to… you know…" Kakashi gestured erratically trying to get a response out of Iruka.

Iruka just stared at the frazzled scarecrow in utter confusion.

"You know …?" Kakashi tried again.

"No I don't know Kakashi, just say it!"

"Doyouwanttomarryme?"

* * *

End of Chapter

Answers to Reviews:

Queen of Paperclips: Thank you so much for you reviews, you've been reviewing since a long while back and I feel touched that you still continue to encourage me at every single chapter.

Evilchild666: Arhh yes thank you for your suggestion, I hope you'd help me suggest more strange and creative events for plot twists XD thank you!

Uzumaki Liliana: thank you for reviewing, and about your question you'd have to read on to find out XD spoiler alert

Naruto of the leafs…: Thank you soo much for the chibi Sasuke and Naruto. You are never unworthy to review because you all are awesome. And this is my first fic so I still have a major esteem issue.

Generally Maz: Thanks dude, you've been reviewing quite a lot. I feel soo happy to have return reviewers. And about Kaka/Iru, ROCK ON!

Half-demon628: Thank you for reviewing! I'm so happy you find my story interesting.

Shadow Kitsune67: Hello thank you for reviewing another chapter! I love the comedic fluff too, I hope it appeals to you.

Ivan's Kitsune: I hope this story can appeal to your tastes, thank you for reviewing and reading it.

Salhieivg: Hello, about the yin and yang thing. The word dominant and submissive is just a manner of expressing the notion of oppositeness in yin and yang. In Chinese court calligraphy, the yang energy is usually portrayed in bold, large strokes that can be described and dominant characteristics and the yin is portrayed in smaller, lighter strokes that can be described as weaker of submissive. Even in paintings of Taoists two trees can be represented in the exact same relation, a more dominant host tree and a more submissive guest tree. That is not to say one energy is greater then the other but they coexist in harmony and are interdependent with each other.

Pingpan: Thank you for your appreciation of this silly little fic and I really wonder what big belly Sasuke looks like too. Maybe someone wanna draw a fanart to enlighten all of us hint hint :D

Queen of Spain: I'm glad you liked that Kakashi volunteering Iruka part, I was hoping it could throw you off XD. Thank you for your review

Red Asatari: Hehe yeah Kakashi is the true epitome of perverseness. But we all love him like that. And the sooner the review counter hits 100 the sooner I update :D thank you for the reviews.


	9. Omake Theatre

Hey folks I wanna thank those who reviewed to Chap 8, the current review count is **77** that means **33** reviews more to go till **100**! So readers, reviewers and lurkers alike, if you like this fic stand up and take a stand! Help keep this fic alive and review and watch me answer to all 33 reviews.

I just wanna say a word of thanks to these reviewers who have reviewed Chap 8: **Uzumaki Liliana, Ivan's Kitsune, evilchild666, shadowhawk00, Sweetsong, Red Asatari, Generally Maz, half-demon628, genbo, Naruto X-overs, Queen of Paperclips, shimomizu, Little Angel Ko, YumiAngel, cfox and PandaylBas.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.This is strictly tongue in cheek, absolutely out of character and for humour purposes. This is not a chapter of the ongoing story. Gonna move it into Chap 8 once this fic hits 100 reviews and upload a Chap 9.

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**Omake Theatre: Bedtime Stories with Uncle Kakashi! Yeah . **

13 year old, Naruto was sitting in his hospital bed contemplating the deeper things in life.

Naruto: Ne, Kakashi-sensei, why did Orochimaru leave Konoha?

Kakashi: Arhh that is an interesting story.

Naruto: Won't you tell it to me?

Kakashi: Well it started in Spring 40 years ago. Jiraiya had just published his first Icha Icha Paradisu novel, Bustin' Bombshell Beginnings. The sales were just raking in and he merrily skipping back home from the bank when he was violently accosted by his teammate, Orochimaru…

Naruto: So Orochimaru was disgusted by Jiraiya's dirty novels and that's why he left?

Kakashi: Erm… no that's not it. You see it happened more like this…

Flashback...

"Jiraiya, how could you do this to me!" Orochimaru wailed, shaking Jiraiya vigorously.

"Now, now Oro-rin. It isn't what it looks like!" Jiraiya tried to appease his hysterical teammate.

"It is exactly what it seems to me! You put Tsunade on the cover page, full frontal! I always knew you loved her more then me!" Orochimaru sobbed.

"That's not true, there is only you Oro-chan."

"That's all a lie! You not only placed Tsunade on the front cover but you also cut me out of this lucrative sales deal! All the times you whispered sweet nothings in my ear as you played with my hair and kissed my er…lips, it was all meaningless!"

"Oro-chan!"

"No…Say not another word! You were my first and my last," Orochimaru sniffed in sadness and with that he stepped off the steep cliff to his poignant peril…

Naruto: CUT THE FLASHBACK!

Kakashi: Eh?

Naruto: So you are telling me that Jiraiya and Orochimaru were in an intimate relationship?

Kakashi: Yeah!

Naruto: And Tsunade was a porn star?

Kakashi: Yes (drools)

Naruto: and due to insecurities in his relationship, Orochimaru commited suicide?

Kakashi: Yeah, it's a tragedy. sniff

Naruto: Sensei……. what kind of crack have you been sniffing?

A/N: On a side note Kakashi was never allowed to babysit Naruto again.

* * *

End of Omake.

Naruto X-overs : Arhh thank you for your review, you have just reminded me of an important character I forgot to use. Thank you for your input, I'll add him in soon.

Shimomizu: Thanks a bunch for your repeated attempt to review, makes me feel loved. XD Oh and please while lurking remember to review too… feedback is important and the fic is like a baby that needs coddling :)

Cfox: Hey its been awhile since I saw you last! Thank you for your review! Please continue to support this fic! XD

All other reviewers I have privately sent reply messages to you all. Thank you for you appreciation and support.


	10. Fools for Love

Hey all,

thanks a bunch for the 100 reviews! Love u guys for that! I am keeping my promise of updating the fic and here's the Chap 9 you guys want! Don't forget to review after this to continue to keep this fic alive!

I wanna thank all who reviewed: **angelsinheaven87, evilchild666, Dana, Naruto-x-Overs, LavenderBlossom, WildBookAddict, Uzumaki Liliana, Kynight, bubblebear, shadowhawk00, Lost ninja #1, FMA-lover16, shimomizu, Queen of Paperclips, Generally Maz, ali, donthavone, Queen of Spain, Hikory and rabidbutterfly.**

A/n: arhh this chappie was kinda odd, I had writer's block so I wasnt too happy with the second part. If you guys hate it just let me know too.** Please keep this fic alive and donate a review!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and gang.

**

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**Chapter 9**

The crowded mission's room suddenly became silent and still and the atmosphere became unbearably uncomfortable as an unusual occurrence took place.

'Its 0700 hours!' Tsunade thought. 'It can't be, can it? No! This must be a delusion.' She pondered behind the missions desk staring at the apparition before her.

The crowd of ninjas pressed themselves back into the sides of the room, trying to put as much distance between them and the apparition. The momentary silence finally broken as a rather high strung ANBU threw himself out of the window screaming, "THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKY IS FALLING! (repeat x2 before splat)" The rest of the room just scrambled out the front door in sheer unabashed terror.

"What! Is it so strange for me to be on time?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly, scratching his masked chin.

"Are you really Kakashi?" Tsunade interrogated the evil clone before her.

"Yes!"Kakashi retorted in irritation. 'Seesh what is wrong with these people. They keep harping about punctuality but when you finally take their advice they act like they've seen the grim reaper or something,'

"Prove it!"

Kakashi just sighed and lifted his hitai-ate to reveal his implanted Sharingan.

"Arhh! Kakashi, it really is you!" Tsunade squealed in delight and pulled Kakashi into her heaving bosoms for a crushing hug.

"Hai, hai, Tsunade-sama. Can I have my mission details now?"

"Sure you can!" she replied chirpily before an evil glint in her eyes told Kakashi to run for the hills (what hills you ask, the Hokage Mountain of course). "…but first, why are you not late for work today?"

"Erm…"Kakashi pondered hard on that question. "Personal issues?" he smiled innocently.

She grabbed Kakashi my his jounin jacket and shook him hard. "SPIT IT OUT!"

"Okay okay!" Kakashi pulled his abused clothing away from Tsunade's prying hands and slumped his head on the table. "I asked her to marry me."

"And did she say Yes!" Tsunade perked up.

"No."

"So she said no?" the Hokage's eyebrows knitted themselves into a frown.

"No."

"THEN WHAT DID SHE SAY?" Tsunade nearly tore her hair out in frustration.

"She said that she'll consider if I become more responsible and prove to her that I can handle a family. Oh and she wants to know if we have enough money to start a family anyways!"Kakashi bemoaned his fate.

Tsunade could hardly believe her ears, that spunky little chunin was as pragmatic as they came. It would be so unprofessional of her to laugh, oh what the heck. "HA HA HA! Kakashi, you're screwed. You poor bas#$!"

Another light chuckle from behind interrupted the conversation and Kakashi whipped his head round to see a very amused Asuma trying his hardest to suppress his own growing laughter.

"Then just forget about it! Is she really worth it?"

Before Asuma even had enough time to finish that sentence, he was pinned up against the wall with a kunai aimed at his throat.

"You better believe she's worth it!" Kakashi snarled.

"Okay break it up you two!" Tsunade yelled and bodily tore the fighting pair away from each other.

"Kakashi go home and talk about taking on extra missions with Iruka. I'm sure she doesn't want a rich but dead husband."

"And you!" she glared at Asuma. "You should be ashamed of yourself. Wait till I tell Kureinai about this!"

"No! Not Kureinai, anything but that!" Asuma wailed.

* * *

Iruka was busy going through the homework she had assigned yesterday, when a disheveled and depressed looking jounin transported into her room with ample smoke to mark his entrance. 

"What happened to you?" she asked raising an eyebrow in question.

"I went to work on time and half the room committed suicide."

"Poor thing," she smiled and went to place a kiss on her lover's forehead.

Kakashi sighed and rest his head on Iruka's shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist. He breathed in the sweet smell of Iruka and remembered why he loved this person so much.

"Iruka, when I save enough money will you marry me?"

Iruka looked up, her eyes looked remorseful. She pushed away from Kakashi and went back to her work.

"Iruka? Do you hate me?" Kakashi was distraught. "Why won't you want to be with me?"

"Its not that I don't love you. I just think that you'd be better off with someone else." Iruka stated calmly, eyes on her work, fearing eye-contact with Kakashi.

"And why do I want that!" Kakashi yelled and kicked at a chair in frustration.

"Because I don't know what I am anymore!" Iruka hollered back. "I don't know if I'm a woman, cause I know I'm not a man anymore."

She laughed at the strangeness of the situation while trying to hold back angry tears. "Look at me! I don't know what woman should be like. I can't dress up; I don't know how to wear make-up. For goodness sake, I still tie my hair the same way I did for 20 years!"

"I can't be the wife you want, Kakashi," she wept.

Kakashi stared at her with unrestrained emotions. "But I don't want any other woman. I just want you, because I just love you."

Kakashi removed his mask and hitai-ate and with a strangely scratchy voice continued, "I may not have done it right the first time but give me another chance."

He got down on one knee and held Iruka's hand he stared up into those beautiful hazel eyes and with the greatest sincerity the Copy Nin could ever muster in his life repeated his proposal. "Will you, Umino Iruka, marry me, one useless middle-class bum that loves you with all his heart?"

Iruka chuckled even through the tears and with a smile gracing her lips, she gave a quick nod.

* * *

End of Chapter.

Answer to anonymous reviews:

Dana: thank you for your review I hope you continue to like this fic XD

LavenderBlossom: arhh thanks to your review and other reviews I have continued this chappie. Thank you for you kind appreciation. Pls continue to support this fic.

bubblebear: i updated, thank you for your review, "you better update soon or else..." so now will you kindly review or else...

Lostninja#1: arhh that was an omake not a false chapter. Its like a break from the normal programming. However here is an update for you to munch on in desperation. thank you for your kind appreciation and review.

donthavone: hello thank you for your review! I agree Saki is cute however i think Sasuke might be bitchier.

Royal Family of Strange Countries and stationary: I GET IT YOU WANT KAKAIRU! therefore this strange kakairu focused chapter is for my kakairu crazed betas.


	11. Looking for Redemption

Hey readers,

Thank you for all your reviews. Anyone here is a first time reviewer or reader since I changed the summary? Is this summary a little more effective in catching your attention or what not? Had a lot of where is NARUSASU this round, so what my reviewers want my reviewers get! Nyahahahhahah this chap's yours folks.

I want to thank all the wonderful reviewers who were nice enough to encourage me: **evilchild666, shadowhawk00, FMA-lover16, rabidbutterfly, deaths little angle, pie-chan, wannaseemymoon, anonymous, Naruto-X-overs, Shadow Kitsune67, Red Asatari, hello, Uzamaki Liliana, Hikory, cfox, RuByMoOn17, Generally Maz, Ivan's Kitsune, I-Y-T-Y, neko-nyaa, ravemastaj, shimomizu, RFSCS and inuyasha92689.**

Disclaimer: Naruto and Gang do not belong to moi so please don't sue. KEEP THE FIC ALIVE, PLEASE continue to support the needy fanfic by donating your REVIEWS.

A/N: This fic is hard to find, I haven't found this fic on the central page since chap 3, I have no idea how you guys find it. Its probably best if you story alert this fic if you like it or copy the title somewhere. It would be nice if you guys would tell me how you all found this fic too, cause I wanna know how.

* * *

**Chapter 11  
**

It was already evening when a soft rustle emanating from above the rafters signaled the return of an old companion. Sasuke was already in a foul mood arranging the appointment for his operation the next day and his LATE, uninvited guest was going to have some explaining to do.

Sasuke viciously kicked open the guest room door to reveal a startled and half-naked Naruto hurriedly trying to put on his pants.

"What the…! Sasuke-teme, close the door for goodness sake!"

"Why should I dobe, and where were you yesterday!"

"Why do you care, teme?" Naruto replied sharply not too pleased with Sasuke's interrogation as finally pulled up his sweatpants and tied it around his hips.

"You ran away right in the middle of Kakashi-sensei's wedding announcement, you really scared the shit out of Iruka-sensei!"

"I needed to go for a mission."

"Hnn…"

"Ok ok! I wanted some time to think about stuff!" Naruto huffed, pushing past Sasuke to strut his way down the stairs, shirtless and unabashed.

Sasuke bristled at the uncharacteristic brush off, after all NO ONE IGNORES THE UCHIHA! He was about to yell at his blond freeloading tenant, when he suddenly remembered how out of character it would be for him to even the slightest bit frazzled.

* * *

Naruto spoke little after the confrontation, merely pulled out the chair from the dining table to sit and partake of his meal in awkward silence under the gaze of a very irate Uchiha. 

"Sasuke-teme, I'm eating here, quit staring!" he quipped in a more characteristic banter.

Sasuke wanted to hurt the idiot but he calmed himself down by counting to thirty, backwards, in Greek and then in Thai. Feeling more or less emotionless again, he made his way up to his room ignoring the annoying 'Yellow Tornado' that was currently wolfing down HIS dinner in HIS house.

'His problem not mine, his problem not mine …' were the only thoughts running through his head as he reached for another pair of shorts to stuff into his suitcase. Sasuke figured it would be best to just pack for the impending hospital stay after tomorrow's operation. So absorbed in his task and mental rants that he did not feel the return of the blond menace until Naruto's arms wrapped themselves around his waist and his rival's face pressed into the small of his back.

"Naruto?" Sasuke choked out in surprise when he felt the warmth of another's body pressed up against him. Naruto usually would never want to touch the prickly Uchiha much less hug him. Sasuke tried to wrestle his way out of the vice-like grip but stopped once he felt Naruto tremble and the dampness he felt pooling at his back was not reassuring.

"Dobe, what's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked dropping his arms to the side as his last urge to escape died to concern for his broken companion.

Naruto made no attempt to neither respond to the question nor try to move from his uncomfortable position merely clutching onto Sasuke like a child seeking comfort from his plushy.

Sasuke sighed in resignation. "I suppose you want to sleep in my room tonight again," he offered gently and was rewarded with a slight nod.

"Hang on let me go close the blinds then we'll get out your futon, ok?" Naruto hesitantly let go of his friend and watched as Sasuke went to close the window blinds in an effort to keep his weakness confidential from the rest of the world. This was an unwritten rule between both of them that things like this should be kept private, from Kakashi, from Sakura and from the rest of the world. It made their friendship secret but it made their friendship intimate.

* * *

It was past 2 in the morning as Sasuke spied the sleeping figure curled up quietly (for once) next to him. The pale moonlight streamed through the window blinds, casting an eerie glow upon the blond shinobi's usually sunny appearance. 

Sasuke's gaze followed the rivulets of dried tears that marked his friend's whiskered cheeks. Though they slept on different futons there were so close he could feel Naruto's breath rise and fall through the night. Somehow Naruto looked so much older when he slept; his face long lost the childish abandon it used to conceal. It was then that it hit him, Naruto had grown up in more ways then one, and yet it was as if he never grew up at all.

"Naruto, how much of your innocence did you save out on the mission fields?" Sasuke mused softly whilst tracing the distinctive marking on Naruto's cheek.

"Too little…"

Sasuke jerked his gaze to his companion's face only to behold the deepest sapphire eyes staring right back at him. They were eyes of a different sort; eyes that beheld too little love and too much sadness, eyes of a killer that wouldn't give in to apathy and hardness of heart. 'Innocence in an assassin?' Sasuke pondered upon the contradiction.

"What's up with you just now, dobe?"

"Nothing."

"That was hardly nothing, spill usuratonkachi or lose your bunking priveledges."

"…nothing, just afraid that's all…"

"What are you afraid of?"

"Being alone I guess."

"You're not alone, usuratonkachi."

"Iruka-sensei is getting married soon, there's gonna be less space for me and I don't think Kakashi-sensei will like it if I overstayed my welcome."

"You mean you stayed at Iruka's!"

"Yeah before I moved in here, whenever I had a hard mission and I needed someone to remind me I'm human, I used to stay over for a bowl of ramen and what I thought was the closest thing to a father's love."

"What about now?" Sasuke asked with a tinge of envy.

"Now? I just come here?"

"Hnn…"

"No, Sasuke you ain't just a replacement."

"Then what am I, dobe?"

"You're my best friend and my rival and the closest thing I have to a family that I'm scared."

"Scared? But I'm right here usuratonkachi."

"For how long, Sasuke? You'll get married, have kids. Where will I fit in?"

"…"

"Then I'll go back to my little hut and do missions till I die?"

"You'll always have a place here, dobe. You're going to be here and nothing is going to change that. You hear me, usuratonkachi."

"You promise?"

"Hnn…"

"Thanks Sasuke…"

* * *

End of Chapter. 

Replies to anonymous reviews:

Death's little angle: Thank you for your appreciation of the story, I hope you like this chapter. I hope you will continue to support this fic.

Pie-chan: Thank you for your review. Hazel is a shade of brown, albeit a lighter shade, so I did not change Iruka's eye colour nor will I change Sasuke's. I hope you'll continue to enjoy this fic.

Anonymous: Thank you for your appreciation of my work, I feel very encouraged. I hope you will continue to enjoy all my work in the future.

Hello: hehe no spoilers here, cause I'm really just moving with the flow. The character would probably be fleshed out more in the future. Thank you for your review and please continue to support this fic.

Cfox: Long time no see, cfox! Its hard to find this fic, in fact I haven't found my fic since chapter 3. But thank you for your review.


	12. Operation Gender Bender

Hey there everybody,

Sorry bout the long hiatus… blame it on my final exams. Apparently my procrastinating ways have caught up with me and forced me to do my time for my crime. I wrote this halfway through my exams so it might be slightly disjointed. If you see anything you hate a lot tell me and maybe I'll change it. And if you like this fic maybe you'll like the other titles on my list "the Broken Cradle" and "Grabstatte der Unschuld".

I wanna thank all my kind and wonderful reviewers: **ravemastaj, half-demon628, shadowkitsune67, evilchild666, blue-genjutsu, Divina14, Sweetmusic-01, inufan69,Dreamwave27, laughing my butt off, naruke, RedAsatari, sneakyninja18, kawaii-inuyashi-riku, Ivan's Kitsune, Naruto-X-overs, shimomizu, cfox, aklilana, shadowhawk00, Pirate, Generally Maz, Hikory, firey Fuu-chan and Limebuggiecom.**

Thank you for the reviews to keep this fic going, so friends PLEASE SUPPORT THIS FIC with your generous donation of REVIEWS.

* * *

Chapter 12

Sasuke felt a stinging pain when he tried to open his eyes. 'Where am I?' he thought squinting at the brightness of the room.

The room was clean, white, sanitized and certainly not his. When he tried to sit up the memory of what had transpired rushed back into his mind in a blinding rage forcing him to collapse back into bed with a guttural curse and a loud thump.

"Sasuke-kun! You shouldn't move around so soon!"

"Sakura?" he inquired shielding his eyes from the bright pink disaster that was making his head hurt.

"SASUKE-teme! Are you okay!"

"Shut up dobe, you are making my world spin," Sasuke muttered weakly trying to bury his head into the covers.

"Naruto, don't shout Sasuke hasn't quite recovered from the general anesthetic yet!"

And just to prove that point Sasuke moved his head off the edge of the bed and upended the contents of his stomach onto Naruto's shoe.

"GAHH! That's disgusting teme!"

"Shut up or I'll do that again!"

"Mou, Naruto that's not the way to speak to a lady," Sakura cooed patting her dark-haired friend in a soothing manner.

"Lady?" Sasuke nearly choked and tore out of the bed in a flurry. Dashing out of the ward and checking 'himself' into the nearest toilet.

* * *

That's right how could he forget about the operation? He had checked himself into the Konoha National Hospital this morning and Naruto insisted on taking the house along for the duration of the stay. Sakura had assisted in the operation and looked veritably sick to her gut when she found out what the procedure was really about. All he remembered after that was the general anesthetic they administered and voila here he was.

Wait a minute won't that mean that Sakura saw him naked? Wait he isn't a he anymore, is he? Sasuke gulped at that train of thought, he looked down at his gown and was mentally berating himself for even thinking of checking under the hood. But…it's his body, isn't it?

Curiosity finally getting the better of him, he slowly lifted up his hospital gown ….

* * *

"ARRHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Was that Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he tried to pick out a set of pajamas for the wayward patient currently on the run.

"Must've been the shock."

"Who goes tofind her, you or I?"

"I think I should be the one, we're the same gender now." Sakura said after much thought.

Naruto just grinned maniacally at the news; he could just see all the jokes at Sasuke's expense floating past his eyes.

"Okay I'll be off to rescue the patient; you stay here and unpack the stuff." Sakura quipped as she skipped off towards the direction that Sasuke was seen running off in.

Sakura found the errant patient huddled in the corner of the toilet, with her knees pulled up to her chest.

"Sasuke?" Sakura was worried about the profoundly disturbed Uchiha.

Sakura tried to reach out to the Uchiha however was rebuffed rather tersely with a painful smack to the wrist. The concerned teammate, who was still mourning the loss of her first love, finally lost all her long suffering patience with her difficult teammate.

"Sasuke what's wrong with you? You wanted this operation and now you're having regrets!" she snapped, furious at Sasuke's double-mindedness.

She wanted to hit the defiant Uchiha that was currently glaring at her with Sharingan activated, as if daring her to make the first move. And when Uchiha snubbed her with the familiar "Hnn…" she did just that, drawing back her fist to build momentum before finally bringing it down for the inevitable blow.

* * *

Sasuke was frustrated, her head was pounding and the room was spinning and sitting here unable to quell the rising doubt and confusion in her heart. With thoughts racing a mile a minute through her head, "Did I do the right thing? This is permanent, why was I so eager to go through with this? How will people react to this and how differently will they see me now? …"

When Sakura had thrown the door open and started gushing worry and concern, she was found to be the perfect distraction from the pain. When she reached out to Sasuke in pity, Sasuke smacked the offending appendage away from her face. Absolutely no one should see Uchiha as weak, how dare this pink haired dead weight of the team look down on her.

A flash of pain ghosted over Sakura's features and quickly replaced by anger. "Wonderful, a fight is what I need," thought Sasuke, who gave a guttural "Hnn…" as a proposition for a brawl.

Sasuke watched in mock amusement as Sakura pulled back her fist, she'll give Sakura a first hit then she'll go full out. Sasuke closed her eyes and waited for the anticipated blow.

* * *

Sakura brought down her fist hard, aiming for Sasuke's smug face. However the blow never connected, a hand caught her arm from behind and firmly forced back the inertia of the blow. She was shocked no one was able to catch her monster strength, this was impossible.

Sakura's gaze panned down to Sasuke whose eyes were open and staring at something behind her. She turned around to find an extremely serious looking Naruto holding onto her forearm, those azure blue eyes looked so hard that she'd thought she'd crack under its gaze. '_A hunter's gaze_.' However it only lasted for a second, just a blink and it was gone, made Sakura doubt it ever existed as she watched the big idiot grin at her.

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke may be a little mental now, you know all the drugs screwing with the brain. I think I'll take her to her room." Naruto said in his usual upbeat mannercomically drawing circles in the air near his templeas he walked to the corner of the room and picked up the errant patient and slung her comfortably over his shoulder.

"Come come Sasuke-teme!" he sang in a mocking manner.

"Oi, usuratonkachi! Put me down!" Sasuke screamed scandalized, "I'll kill you, burn you…"

"Whatever you say, teme," Naruto chided, "If you can stand up straight and keep your guts in at the same time that is."

"Ja matta, Sakura-chan!" Naruto chirped as he hauled Sasuke down the corridor to her room. Leaving Sakura alone to contemplate the meaning of their recent interaction, as the sounds of laughter and colourful curses of exchanged discourse faded into the hallway. The only thing on her mind was, "Who is Naruto and Sasuke and what is the nature of their relationship?"

* * *

End of Chapter. 

Answers to anonymous reviews:

Laughing my butt off: To set the record straight, I'm not allergic to yaoi. The only reason I wrote a gender bender was because there were already a couple of stories of mpreg and I was looking for something more original. I thought too, that it would be a good way to torture Sasuke. :D

Naruke: thank you for your review. I'm trying my best to finish :D , hopefully I'll find a way to end off.

Cfox: Hey there cfox and thank you for your review, I probably would have to go further into this fic before I can continue the "the Broken Cradle" because of character issues, however I might be updating "Grabstatte der Unschuld" soon. Check that one out too.

A/N: hey there Queen of Paperclips I haven't heard from you in a long while, are you still with us?


	13. Counting on your Companion

Hey there readers,

There has been a recent slump in the reviews and hits. Basically I really don't know how long this story will last, it depends solely on your votes. If there are fewer reviews, it probably means that you guys are starting to get bored of this and want me to bring it to a conclusion soon. So if you guys still want me to continue this, please review to keep this fic alive. So guys MORE SASUNARUness for you all!

I want to thank those who did review the last chapter with all my heartfelt gratitude : **blue-genjutsu, I-Y-T-Y, Hikory, DeityofDeath, Isarandel, evilchild666, Divina14, ravemastaj, Moon221, shadowhawk00, YumiAngel, Generally Maz, nicha, pingpan, Ivan's Kitsune, Dark Iasha and Naruto-X-overs.**

Thank you loads for the love. Hope you will continue to appreciate my works.

* * *

Chapter 13

Naruto dumped his unhappy cargo back onto said cargo's respectively assigned bed. He gave a good glare to the unruly patient before launching into his exaggerated comical impersonation of Sakura.

He placed a hand on his hip and flicked a stray lock of hair from his face with the other. "Sasuke-kuuunn! Hidoi yo! Running off and picking fights with the nurses!" Naruto whined in excellent falsetto before faking sobs with a dramatic flair. "You break my heart flirting with the nurses!"

Sasuke tried to keep a straight face but that was getting harder by the minute, she finally broke down to whimpers when Naruto tried to "fix" his make up.

"Haha got ya, you sour faced bastard!" Naruto cried out in joy as Sasuke recovered enough of her dignity to aim a pillow at Naruto's big mouth.

"Shut up usuratonkachi!" Sasuke tried to put on her best glare but just ended up looking like a lop-sided smirk.

"Scoot over!" Naruto gave her a cheeky grin before trying to squeeze into the tiny bed already occupied.

Naruto managed to squeeze himself in and now sat side by side with the bed's original occupant.

"Can't you get your own bed, dobe?"

"Nah, the nurses were being mean, said I was too fit to stay in bed!"

"You know most would consider that a blessing."

"Well not when I want to be with you…"

"Hnn…"

"So what were you so upset about?"

"Hnn…"

"I'd know even if you don't tell me."

"THEN WHY ASK!"

"It's not weak to fear the unknown future…"

"…"

"But I believe if you chose the path to follow, then walk it with the greatest confidence. That is my Nindo!"

"That's easier to say than to achieve."

"Yeah, but I believe in you, Sasuke. If there ever was a person who could pull it off, I believe it would be you."

"What made you so bloody confident of me, when I can't even believe that of myself?" Sasuke could barely restrain her frustration.

"Because that is what a friend is for. A friend is supposed to be to so bloody confident of you that you'll just have to suck it up and prove me right." Naruto gestured gallantly, puffing up his chest and gesticulating wildly.

"Hnn…"

"Don't worry, I'll stick by you to the end." Naruto proclaimed, flashing Sasuke a toothy grin. "We'll get you to be the strongest ninja in Konoha, wait no the world! Well after me of course…"

"Dobe…" Sasuke couldn't help but smile inwardly at this familiar gesture of camaraderie.

* * *

Sakura watched from the crack in the door as Sasuke gently dozed on Naruto shoulder and said blond was drooling on Sasuke's hair. Old feelings and memories started to stir within her heart. She had once felt a growing envy towards both of them; Naruto for taking all of Sasuke's attention and Sasuke for taking away her best friend. But she knew she could never hate either of them, she loved them too deeply for that.

Even during the time they spent together as Team 7, she knew she was in a strange position with regards to the two boys. She was not exactly a stranger, she knew they were close to her, yet she wasn't really as close to either of them as they were to each other. They started off as rivals, each trying to outdo each other, soon they had pushed each other to progress faster then anyone would have imagined, leaving her far behind, biting their dust. And when Sasuke left to join Orochimaru and the Team disbanded, she sought to narrow the growing divide between herself and her comrades by studying under Tsunade's tutelage.

She really believed that if she could stand on an equal footing with both of them, she could once again be part of them. However once Sasuke was beaten and brought back to Konoha in chains, she finally realized that the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke had progressed past rivalry. They were friends; they really did hold genuine affection for each other despite loud protests that proclaim otherwise.

She watched as Naruto stuck by Sasuke through all the humiliation, all the verbal abuse and all the hateful glances. Naruto was Sasuke's only support, never letting him give up even in the darkest hours and there had been many. Together they made it through, Sasuke was reinstated as a shinobi of Konoha as well as the head of the Uchiha clan, after all the execution of Uchiha Itachi was restitution enough for his past sins. Sasuke became a hero of sorts, whilst Naruto once again faded into the background. However the relationship was never damaged through even the good times when one may find it easier to shed off faithful yet unpopular friends. Sasuke and Naruto stuck together through the years, the pain and the popularity, she couldn't compete with that kind of affection…

…So she gave up on Sasuke and moved on to find someone who'd be to her what Naruto is to Sasuke. She found that person in a certain green clad jounin, whose love of spandex is rivaled only by his love for her, Rock Lee. Love wasn't a blinding emotion like it was with Sasuke, it was slow paced and steady with Lee. A little bit of affection went a long way with him and he showered her with all of his heart. Slowly he won her over, without her realizing it she was in love and getting married.

Slowly, Sasuke moved from being the centre of her life to a mere memory of a past love. However watching him standing at the back of aisle dressed in the formal kimono watching her say her wedding vows made her wonder about the things that could've been. Then she saw a similarly dressed Naruto take up his familiar position beside Sasuke who gave her the best smile he could give to the happy couple, it was only then she made up her mind.

'_Naruto, I'll leave Sasuke in your hands. May both of you find happiness as I've found today…'_

* * *

End of Chapter.

Replies to anonymous reviews:

Nicha: hey there thank you for your review, sorry for the long wait. I hope this chapter is somewhat worth the wait. All the Sasunaruness for you guys to munch on. XD


	14. Partner? Partner in Crime?

Hey there,

Sorry bout the long wait. The World Cup got in the way and then Yakitate Japan! And when will Naruto ever grow up in the anime!

I wanna thank all the fantastic people who reviewed: **FMA-lover16, Wildbookaddict, nicha, Ivan's Kitsune, evilchild666, inufan69, wulfie-squeeker, Sir Elliot, ravemastaj, OokamiAya, hikory, TakiraTasugiri, cfox, angel61991, shadowhawk00, Moon221, Kawaii-Aikurushii-Kitsune, flame gazer, blue-genjutsu, Generally Maz and Naruto-X-overs. **

Just asking, are they any guys actually reading this fic? I'm under the impression that most people who read this fic are girls, so I'm just curious, nothing much. Just wanna destroy or affirm and age old misconception on my part.

Sorry folks this time round all I could get was humour out of my brain and very little fluff...sumimasen.

Disclaimer: Naruto and gang do not belong to me so you can't pay me in cash but do **DONATE your REVIEWS to keep this fic alive** since the number of chapters this fic will have solely depends on the vote of the populous. In other words Majority wins.

* * *

Chapter 14

It had been a week since Sasuke was warded in Konoha's Hospital and besides the usual projectile furniture and the occasional fist fights that went on, it was a very normal and absolutely boring stay. Thankfully today was check out and Sasuke was determined that this should pass as quickly as possible.

"Dobe! Move faster! I don't want to stay in this hellhole another second!"

"Mou…Sasuke-teme my hands are aching already. And why aren't you doing anything?"

"My status as a patient requires my strict attention to not strain my body."

"Strain my body, my ass…" Naruto muttered under his breath while tossing another article of clothing into the luggage bag.

"Did I hear any complaints, usuratonkachi?" Sasuke asked sweetly whilst giving the scariest expression Naruto has ever seen. "I'm sure Tsunade-sama would love to hear how her wonderful successor refuses to take care of her poor little patient."

Naruto straightened dramatically when he heard the Fifth's name mentioned, surely Sasuke had to be above blackmail, wouldn't she!

"…and I'm sure Sakura-chan would love to hear about how her delightful Naruto-kun would stoop so low as to allow poor sick Sasuke-kun to carry her own bags…"

Guess not.

"Arhh its fine! I LOVE to carry your stuff Sasuke!" Naruto quickly replied before picking up the mountain of luggage and trying to find the front door.

"This way dobe!" Sasuke smirked. "Follow my voice and try not to drop anything…"

"You suck Sasuke bastard!"

"Hold on! Where do you think you are going Sasuke-kun," a voice rang out from the doorway. Sasuke glanced behind to find the Fifth Hokage standing there with her arms akimbo.

"You can only leave once I finish the primary examination and conclude that you are well enough to leave."

Sasuke glared at the blond woman showing much displeasure at being denied her hospital discharge. "Alright," Sasuke declared before moving to sit on the bed she was so hoping to vacate.

Tsunade made her way to her patient and then stood in front of the disgruntled Uchiha. And she stood….

And stood….

And waited…

And coughed…

And coughed…

And coughed…

"NARUTO WILL YOU GET OUT ALREADY!"

"Mou why, Tsunade-baachan?"

"Just get out! NOW!"

And with that she tossed the blond idiot out the window along with several of the luggage for good measure.

"Now that we are alone, we can start with the examination. Would you kindly remove your garments?"

Sasuke looked puzzled at that suggestion, then utterly mortified; she gripped and pulled her clothes closer to herself.

"OH come on, Sasuke! Stop being a baby and let me see!" Tsunade had all but lost her patience and tried to grab the clothes right off the Uchiha's back.

"NOO!"

"You don't have to be shy! We're all the same now!"

"Still…….!"

In the end the stronger of the two won out in this ridiculous tug of war and finally the physician was able to continue the examination in a somewhat peaceful manner, as peaceful as you can get with an unrelenting patient that is.

"Sasuke, your body is adjusting well to the changes," The Fifth declared, "but your new body is still immature and probably take more then a month before you are able to carry a child."

"That long?" Sasuke asked whilst redressing herself.

"I'd use that period to retrain your body; the difference in abilities will be quite obvious."

"Hnn…"

"And I suppose you've already found a partner?"

"Partner?" Sasuke was throroughly puzzled now. "I thought my partner was Naruto? Am I to be reassigned?"

"I'm not talking about missions, Sasuke!" Tsunade hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. "All you mission-horny idiots… I'm talking about a life partner!"

"…"

"You DO know that babies are not found in cabbage patches, right?"

"…"

"Didn't you get the TALK!"

"The ANBU orientation talk?"

"NO!" Tsunade was tearing her hair out in frustration. "you know the birds and the bees?"

"I know…I know… BIOLOGY! Iruka-sensei taught that in 2nd year!" Naruto quipped from the rafters above.

"NOT that TALK!" Tsunade screamed before flinging a barrage of kunais at the ceiling. "AND WHEN DID YOU GET BACK!"

"JUST!JUST I saw nothing! Really! Ninja's honour!" Naruto squeaked when he saw Sasuke preparing a Katon jutsu.

"Hnn…." was the last thing Sasuke uttered before blasting Naruto with white hot flames.

"ARHHHHHH!"

Tsunade then calmly swept up the blackened mass and tossed the ashes out the window.

"Okay back the where we were. You need someone to sire a child."

"Hnn…"

"I'm sure someone as yourself, won't think it acceptable to just get any trash on the street." Tsunade smirked when she saw a tinge of curiousity in the Uchiha's dark eyes. "Quality is the issue here, you'd want children as strong as…no even stronger then you. And for that the father must be of superior standard."

"Then why don't you get me one, since you are the Hokage after all."

"No, I have no time to play matchmaker but don't worry I've assigned someone to do that job for you."

At that the door dramatically swung wide open and in stepped in a dazzling kabuki costume, a white long wig and face paint……..! "Tadaima!"

"Naruto stop fooling around!" the Godaime raged before beating the snot out of her idiot successor.

"Hai, Tsunade-baachan…….." Nauto sulked dramatically, now that his grand entrance was totally ruined.

"Naruto!" Sasuke looked veritably ill. "You are entrusting such an important thing to this baka!"

"Well, Naruto has known you for the longest time and since both of your schedules coincide. I thought it would be a wonderful side mission for him when he is home."

"You just want to keep him out of your hair don't you?"

"Hahaha what ever do you mean by that Sasuke-kun?" Tsunade asked whilst faking a laugh.

"Don't worry! Naruto will never never ever quit on his missions! This is my way of the Ninja!" Naruto announced proudly to his unresponsive audience.

'That is what I'm afraid of …'Sasuke thought to herself.

* * *

End of Chapter. 

Is it just me or do windows have a big showing in this fic?

Replies to anonymous reviews:

nicha: yep I reply to all reviews. Thank you for reviewing and reading the fic.

cfox: Oh dear, you couldn't find this fic? Don't worry I can't find this fic either. --;; BUt no worries just set up an account and put it under story alert and problem solved :D. Thank you for your review and thank you for the appreciation.

I was rereading this fanfic and I actually was amused by the story, how wierd ... and so I hope at least you guys have as much fun reading my newbie writing.


	15. Lean on Me

A/N: This is not an update, I'm doing some remodeling cause I'm picky about line breaks.

Haha Sorry folks I'm back and very late as ever. School started got me into a strange buzz. This time the chap is even longer v.happy and I bet you guys are too! Unfortunately most of the fic is erm...fight sequence, I just to get it out of the way I'm sorry! I recieved really fantastic reviews and comments, they really make my day and some are just plain hilarious. Some people send in their plot ideas and really I'm tempted to use em all. THANK YOU FOR YOUR IDEAS!

Sorry fans of other chars I forgot to put in other people again, I'll try in the next chap if not I'll just write another JiOro omake and make all of you have nightmares. Kukukuku

I really like to thank all you reviewers out there who encouraged me to continue this fic to its 15th chapter: **evilchild666, Hikory, Kawaii-Yami-Neko, Mizuki hikari, hana, tragic ending, RoqueFanAM, Giildy, sleepyOni195, anonymous, Sir Elliot, ravemastaj, SaYuri-aNbU, inu fan 69, neko-nyaa, Generally Maz, Spanish Royalty, shadowhawk00, I-Y-T-Y, Soul of the Silver Phoenix, Moon221, Naruto-X-overs, JadeAnime and blue-genjutsu.**

Author's notes: I don't own the Naruto gang really... I don't. I wrote this fic for non-profit fun and to see how well recieved it could be so you don't have to donate cash but **please if you like this fic and want it to continue on, DONATE YOUR REVIEWS it is feedback to me whether you like it or not.**

Just to clarify: "..." speech

'...' thought

**

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Chapter 15

The second Naruto set the last of the luggage down at the master bedroom under Sasuke's ever so 'subtle' supervision, a sharp kick connected with his head and sent him hurtling out the wall and into the flower patch…sorry I meant tree trunk at the back of the house.

"TEME what do you think you were doing!" Naruto howled as he staggered to his feet clutching his aching head.

"It's training time, dobe! I want to test out this body's physical abilities." Sasuke coldly informed the stunned blond whilst leaning nonchalantly against the gaping hole of her 2nd floor bedroom.

"I'LL KILL YOU BASTARD!"

Sasuke smirked at the well worn battle-cry of her blond idiot, managing to further enrage the opponent who was now more then an inch taller then her.

"I'll see you try to put a speck of dust on my face, dobe!" and with that last remark she jumped into the trees and sped off towards the training grounds due north with a furious Naruto clipping on her heels.

* * *

Sasuke hid herself in the shadows of the cluster of trees and waited for her intended target to move closer to her, quickly assessing the situation and her opponent. 

Naruto acts like a clumsy oaf seventy per cent of the time and seemed to thoroughly incompetent as a ninja. However countless people who underestimated him as so litter the bottom of Hades; when Naruto puts on his mask, he becomes a completely different fighter. He can be fast, agile but most of all absolutely, mind-blowingly, incredulously powerful. As his mission partner she saw first hand the sheer strength Naruto could muster with the Kyuubi's chakra, seeing him stop Manda's strike with his bare fists. She knew she couldn't afford a close proximity combat; her only hope lay in ranged attacks.

She watched as her blond comrade landed on a tree approximately 45 degrees from where she was. "Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled flinging a barrage of kunais at the target whilst charging towards her target, only to watch him disappear in a cloud of smoke. 'Kage bunshin?'

She realized her mistake and turned around to catch an impending blow to the head, however the force of the blocked kick flung her back almost 3 feet from the starting point. 'Naruto really isn't holding back,' she thought.

'Good…'

She rushed back into the cover of the thick Konoha foliage, she really cannot afford to take a hit. As she rushed towards a better position, she could hear a loud shout, "_Tajyuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"

'Oh crap!' Sasuke thought, the stupid chakra powerhouse is at it again. Fortunately or unfortunately, Naruto has really refined his fighting skills over the years, he still favours close range combat however he is less likely to just stand in middle of a clearing with a red bull's-eye painted on his back (literally) anymore.

'Where are the clones? And where is the dobe hiding?' Sasuke thought. 'Maybe its time to check out how this body really fares.'

Sasuke steeled herself for any surprises her new body might throw at her before slowly letting her chakra seep into her eyes, bleeding it from black to a stark red. She gasped at the clarity of vision and let herself readjust to the changes. 'Amazing! My peripheral vision range has been increased to a near 360 and the acuteness is just incredible!'

She swept her eyes over the vicinity, well pleased with the increase of precision in her Mangekyou Sharingan. She could find most of the clones hiding in the vicinity, some even directly above her. However to tell the real from the fake is hard though not impossible.

There was a slight quirk in the way kage bunshins moved and Sasuke always relied on that to tell the difference but that's only if they were all moving. Sasuke knew direct confrontation was inevitable, it was now or never. She attacked one of the clones at the side of the cluster fully aware the entire legion of Narutos would turn their attention there.

Sure enough the clones came one after the other and right smack in the frontlines leading the way was the real one. 'Dobe,'Sasuke smirked.

"_Sofuushasen no Tachi!"_ Sasuke released shurikens manipulated by unseen steel wires straight at the original tying him to a nearby tree, before quickly from seals for the finishing blow.

"_Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu_!" she cried as a wave of white hot flames followed the wires to the target.

"ARE YOU INSANE!" Naruto screamed before he snapped the wires with a kunai left forgotten nearby, quickly leaping away before he was burnt to a crisp.

Naruto charged towards Sasuke and this time there was no getting away. Naruto was pissed and was fighting like a maniac, even with the Sharingan, all Sasuke could do in close combat was match blow for blow. 'The idiot doesn't have an opening!'

Sasuke was getting frustrated, even if Sasuke got a hit in or two, she could tell it lacked the power to end the fight quickly. Naruto was slowly wearing her down, and though she was blocking every hit, it still felt like she took a blow. 'This body isn't going to be any use for taijutsu!'

Finally, Naruto saw an opening in Sasuke's stance when she got slightly distracted and gave her a swift blow to her gut, knocking her to the ground. He then swiftly pinned her to the ground claiming victory for the fight.

"Beat that Sasuke bastard!" Naruto boasted … loudly, before literally rubbing her face in the ground.

Sasuke screeched at the treatment screaming unmentionable obscenities at the blond currently sitting on her back.

"What Sasuke-chaaaan ! I thought you said I should TRY to get a speck of dirt on your pweetty face!"

Sasuke was beyond humiliated now, she flicked a kunai out of her side pocket and stabbed the idiot in the thigh.

"ITAAAAAIIIIIII! Were you trying to kill me!"

"What? You're still talking? Damn I should've cut closer to the artery." Sasuke smirked.

Naruto hollered and clutched at his bloody leg screaming bloody murder, before Sasuke smacked him over the head for being a baby.

"Can you walk, dobe?"

"I doubt it, you maniac! You're just gonna leave me here to bleed to death aren't you!"

"Baka." Sasuke quipped tonelessly before tearing a strip of cloth from Naruto's shirt.

"You're ruining my shirt now?"

"Hnn…" Sasuke then used the cloth to bandage Naruto wounded leg…very tightly.

Naruto nearly passed out from the treatment itself. 'Thank goodness Sasuke isn't a medic!'

"Get up!"

"What?"

"Get up, baka! Then lean on me, I'll take you to Sakura."

Naruto grew suspicious at the offer, but then chalked it up to a guilty conscience. So he lifted his body of the ground and placed an arm around Sasuke's shoulders and slowly hobbled to the clinic with a rather embarrassed Uchiha in tow.

* * *

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined, "Sasuke stuck a giant knife in my leg and tried to bleed me out!" 

"You exaggerate Naruto," Sakura sighed, "And you asked for it, messing up a woman's face is a crime you know!"

Sasuke watched Sakura try to clean and tape up the wound on Naruto's leg ( he heals within a night, no need for stitching) whilst the big blond baby whined about how'd he won the fight fair and square and Sasuke was so ashamed that she tried to kill him to cover it up. Naruto was forced to change into one of those hospital gowns and boy were the nurses staring….drooling ….whatever. Sasuke gave them a cold glare and that was enough to send them on their way.

"….you know, Sakura you're SO much more gentle then Sasuke! She nearly killed me trying to cure me…."

Sasuke winced at those words, though she couldn't understand why though.

A loud whack resounded and brought Sasuke out of her musings. "How dare you say that! Sasuke could have let you bleed out there, instead she kindly brought you here! And not to mention the fact that she tied the bandage so tightly caused the bleeding to stop ages ago!"

Naruto was now rubbing the growing bump on his head and was looking rather sheepish. Sasuke's eyes swept onto the wound and realized that it really was quite a deep cut. 'Maybe I did overreact a little.' Her eyes then wandered a little further over the expanse of well-tanned thigh. She appreciated the fine musculature and bronze skin before moving her eyes higher to where the gown was bunched up against his leg, barely concealing Naruto's modesty.

Sasuke gasped and nearly slapped herself for where her thought processes were going. 'This is not right! Naruto is the idiot who lives in my attic, like a pet troll. He is NOT sexy!'

"Sasuke are you alright?" Naruto asked concerned when Sasuke gasped suddenly without any apparent reason. And was she blushing? He couldn't really tell. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Hnn…"

"Naruto you're all done. You can go home now." Sakura concluded.

"Really? Great let me get my clothes…"

"Sorry Naruto your cant wear your pant's yet. It's going to be a hassle for examination tomorrow and it might disturb the dressing."

"Then what am I supposed to wear?"

"This dobe," Sasuke interjected tossing a yukata at her blond friend, Sakura nodded in approval.

"So you rest well and remember to come back for tomorrow's check up," Sakura chirped whilst dragging Sasuke out of the room, giving Naruto a little privacy to change.

* * *

"So you stabbed him," Sakura deadpanned raising a bubble-gum pink eyebrow in question. 

"Hnn."

"As much as he deserved that, I don't suppose you should at least use some restraint when sparring with your own partner."

"Hnn…" he huffed although Sasuke did have the courtesy to look a little (very little) guilty.

"I want you to make sure he gets better, after all this is really your fault. I want to make his recovery as comfortable as possible, you hear me!"

Sasuke merely crossed her arms over her chest and sulked.

"He's your best friend, I really wished you just treat a little better sometimes."

Sasuke was surprised at Sakura's confession, did she really seem like such a prick towards Naruto?

"I will Sakura."

Sakura nodded, convinced that Uchiha will make good on her promise. She was about to speak again when the door slammed open and out stormed a pissy looking blondie with a slight limp in a dark blue yukata.

"I FEEL DRAFTY!" Naruto declared angrily before he turned to glare at the Uchiha. "Sasuke! Help me back!"

Sasuke sighed and went to Naruto's side, letting him throw one arm round her shoulders as she supported most of his weight. Slowly they both shuffled their way back to the Uchiha manor.

'Sasuke please take care of him….' Sakura thought to herself.

* * *

End of Chapter. 

Replies to anonymous reviews:

Hana: thank you for supporting this fic. Don't worry I won't end this story prematurely as long as people continue to feedback that they want this fic to continue via reviews.

Giildy: . That plot idea u sent me was amazingly hilarious. Hahaha I might use it in the fic, I hope u don't mind. thank you for the idea and the support.

ravemastaj: dudez! I'm from .sg!

anonymous: Thank you for reviewing chap 14 I hope you'll continue to support this fic and thank you for your input on the survey thing!

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	16. Between Dreaming

Sorry folks about the long wait, I had to write an essay about serial killers and mass murderers. Then I have to write an essay about politicians, so not much difference either way, except the magnitude of the victims I think. Thank you guys for being patient with me ! I'm sorry bout this XD ! I hope this chapter is fine, felt inane when I was writing it, I hope its actually interesting.

I would really like to thank all you people who have reviewed and made my life a lot brighter: **nicha, Hikory, Sir Elliot, inu fan 69, Watra, ****Kawaii-Aikurushii-Kitsune****, LadyMoon, ****evilchild666****ravemastaj****, anonymous, ****Kenderforever****JadeAnime****Generally Maz****Teh Emo Bitch Sasuke****, Jordan, viperdarkness, Rapunzel, ****Wannaseemymoon****shadowhawk00****Divina14****Get Your Own Hanyou****Naruto-X-Overs****takuya****DarkRavie**** and ****Kingofrogues**

This chap is dedicated to them!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and gang so do not donate Cash or other Money orders, but PLEASE do donate your REVIEWS in order to help me improve this fic and also to give me a rough gauge on whether to continue, after all no reason for production if the market doesnt want it. :)

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Chapter 16

The night grew colder and as silent as the grave, Naruto hated this witching hour when there was no longer any noise on the outside to drown out the screams inside his head. The atmosphere was becoming oppressive and he needed a hold on reality before he slips into his desperate fantasies. He fingered the cold blade of the kunai in his hand inviting him into a habit he'd long since kicked, but the screams were getting louder and wailing was deafening…

"Naruto," a quiet whisper called him back to reality. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Ah…it's just the wound, it still stings," he replied loosening his vice-like grip on the kunai.

"Usuratonkachi…Yawn …it'll be gone by morning," with that said, a familiar hand reached towards his and flicked his kunai away, burying its deadly intent into wooden walls.

Naruto sighed and snuggled deeper into the futon covers. Sasuke was right, it'll all be gone by morning, and with that one thought, the blond Anbu slipped quietly into sleep.

* * *

The doorbell rang twice, then stopped for a moment. Naruto ignored the intrusion and hoped that the wannabe visitor would just let him get some more sleep. Unfortunately, the ringing picked up again, becoming more furious until finally the visitor had taken to try pounding the door into the ground.

"Sasuke!Naruto!Open the door!" was the loud shout that came from downstairs followed by a succession of heavy pounding.

"Sasuke…" groaned Naruto. "…door…Sasuke"

Unfortunately all he got from his roommate was a grunt before the mistress of the house twisted her body away from him and promptly fell back to sleep.

Cussing colourfully at the soon to be dead visitor, the embittered tenant clambered painfully out of bed to the front door that seemed so terribly far away suddenly.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed for the umpteenth time before bringing her fist down to meet the hard wood, the door has proven to be an unyielding adversary but she will defeat it!

It was unfortunate however that Naruto chose to open said door and yell "What is …Oompf!" as Sakura's power fist connected with his face.

"WHAT THE WAS THAT ALL ABOUT!" Naruto yelled rubbing his abused head.

"Oh hi Naruto…..," Sakura trailed as her eyes wandered up her ex teammate's figure. Naruto had actually forgot to put on a shirt before coming to the door and all he had on were sweatpants that were riding far too low on his hips, Naruto was definitely giving Sakura an eyeful early in the morning. Maybe she should come tomorrow morning as well…

"What's up, Sakura-chan?" Naruto yawned clearly falling asleep on the door.

"Oh yes!" she snapped out of her little stupor and got right back to business, "I need to discuss things with you guys about Iruka and Kakashi's wedding this weekend."

Naruto's eyes snapped open, all manner of sleep and slumber fled with this horrid sinking realization. "WHAT! The wedding is this weekend?"

Sakura merely nodded.

"OH CRAP!" Naruto yelled. "Oh yes Sasuke … Sasuke is still sleeping, hang on I'll go wake her."

Sakura watched as Naruto turn his back on her to go to the bedrooms and boy did she love the view, the pants dipped a little down his back teasing her senses with what she could not see, yet clung to him like a second skin accentuating the fine musculature down to that really REALLY tight ass… Sakura grinned like a cat that got to the cream. 'If only I said yes to Naruto when we were 12,' inner Sakura mused.

She followed behind Naruto closely (too close if you asked me) as they made they way to the master bedroom. Naruto slid the wooden door open before moving towards a large lump under the futon covers.

Naruto cautiously peeled back the covers until they exposed Sasuke's dozing head, he then gently brushed away the rogue raven locks from her fair face before moving his face close to hers…

…….

….

…..

…

…before screaming "WAKE UP, SASUKE-TEME!" right into the dozing Uchiha's ear.

Sakura cringed at the torture Naruto was putting Sasuke through, she half expected Sasuke's ears to bleed. But to her utter amazement all the Uchiha did was to roll away from the loud blond and promptly fell back into a deep slumber.

"Sorry Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme is usually like this in the morn." Naruto smiled sheepishly then proceeded to drag the deadweight out of the covers. The sleeping lump fought valiantly with Naruto for a couple of minutes however was pulled from the sheets and carried from the front into the toilet. Naruto then placed the sleeping beauty in the bath and cruelly turned on the showers.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaHHHHHHHHHhhhhh!"

……..

…….

….

'Why does that sound like Naruto?' Sakura thought and no sooner the blond emerged from the bathroom with his arm firmly twisted behind his back by a very wet and very pissed Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shrieked in surprise when Sasuke threw the annoying Uzumaki into the adjoining wall.

"Hnn…"

"It's ok Sasuke I just came to tell you guys to turn up for the wedding this weekend. Dress formally and no orange Naruto!"

Naruto smiled sheepishly.

"And…" she stopped abruptly when she noticed something so out of the ordinary it made her eyes hurt. Sakura's eyes nearly bugged out. "Sasuke-kun," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice that tried to mask her shock.

"What?"

"What are you wearing?"

"A white nagajuban! Can't you see Sakura-chan!" Naruto interjected.

(A/N: a type thin white yukata worn under the kimono.)

"Yes I can see that, but what are you wearing underneath?"

Naruto face scrunched up as though that was the hardest question in the world.

"Nothing." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Right," Naruto nodded. "Nothing at all!"

It took about 15 seconds before the room's occupants finally felt the gravity of what was transpired.

"Nothing at all!" Naruto hollered whilst holding his bleeding nose shut.

"Well technically, I'm still wearing boxers."

"That won't do Sasuke!" Sakura fumed. "You are coming with me and Ino for a well needed EMERGENCY SHOPPING TRIP!" She spoke with such passion that they could feel the embers of smouldering fires burning from her eyes.

"Sucks to be you, teme."

"You're coming along, Naruto!"

A loud groan elicited from the blond, whilst Sasuke smirked quietly, after all… misery loved company.

* * *

Kakashi came home to a strangely alien world that day; the house looked as if it had been ransacked by a rabid bear, desperate for a meal it was denied. Books, cutlery, clothes and other paraphernalia were strewn carelessly around the private property that he shared with his fiancée. 'That's right!' he suddenly remembered Iruka was supposed to be home.

He flicked out a kunai from his back pocket and silently prowled around the estate looking for his misplaced bride-to-be.

Not too long after, he picked up the sound of a muffled groan coming from the living room, panicked and enraged he charged into room crimson eye blazing ready to take on anyone who dared hurt his most precious.

However the room was unusually devoid of enemy presence, all he found amidst the piles of cloth and books strewn around the normally tidy living space was a surprised Umino Iruka half buried by the mess.

"Kakashi?"

"Yes, Iru-chan?"

"Ah…okaeri…" Iruka whispered, before looking back down at the piece of fabric in her hand.

"…tadaima." Kakashi breathed, couldn't quite believe that the person that inhabited that very same room belonged to his normal spirited lover.

The silver haired jounin sheathed his weapon and lowered his forehead protector before he approached the brunette.

"Iru-chan are you feeling alright?" he moved to Iruka's side placing a hand on her shoulder in order to make her acknowledge his presence.

"I'm fine Kakashi."

"Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"I'M FINE!" Iruka snapped, flinging the material at Kakashi. "Why would there be anything wrong?"

"This is about Naruto, isn't it?"

"Of course not! What makes you say that!" Iruka was practically yelling at this point, her eyes was getting moist with unshed tears.

Kakashi hurried to catch her in his arms, one hand wrapped firmly round her torso and the other stroking her long brown hair. She struggled for a moment, hating the feeling of being so weak, before surrendering to Kakashi's tender ministrations.

"Kakashi…"

"Yes, Iru-chan?"

"Why won't Naruto accept us?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean why he looked so horrified when I told him that we were getting married?"

"…"

"Am I so disgusting to him now?" Iruka rambled. "That I'd change my gender so that I could possibly have a family with you? Is that concept so Lewd!"

"I doubt that Iru-chan," Kakashi cooed softly trying to soothe his heartbroken beloved.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Well he's living with another gender bender for one."

"You mean?" Kakashi thought that Iruka finally pieced together some of the information. "He just hates me?" ….okay maybe not all the information.

"Iruka it's not by position to tell you what is going through Naruto's mind at this point but what I do know is that no matter what, I'm still going to marry you, accepted or not. Naruto will just have to deal with that. You have every right to want your own life, every right to love and definitely, without a doubt every right to be loved."

"…"

Kakashi moved his hands to cup Iruka's face gently and steer her eyes to face him, he then pulled down his mask and said, "Umino Iruka, I know that you for one did nothing to deserve loathing of any kind, especially not from Naruto." He then bent down to place a chaste kiss on her lips hoping that she'd believe him, it was the heartfelt truth after all.

When the kiss broke, he opened his eyes to see the most beautiful smile directed back at him. 'This must be what it's like to be in love' Kakashi thought.

"How bout we get out of this place and take a look at the wedding dress we reserved?"

And with a quick nod from Iruka, Kakashi hauled her up towards the main door…

* * *

End of Chapter.

Replies to anonymous reviews:

nicha: thank you for your review, i'd invite u to continue reading to figure out how'd their relationship progresses. wont be fun if i reveal the spoilers XD !

LadyMoon: hey there ! I don't think we are in the same school, I'm in Singapore and not in highschool for a long while :( twas a nice thought though :)

anonymous: Hey there thank you reviewing again, I make it a point to reply to all reviews :) ! Oh you caught the "I feel DRAFTY!" insinuation! Kewl!

jordan: Sorry man I wasn't trying to kill you. My schoolwork was. :P

viperdarkness: Thank you for your encouragement and your appreciation! I hope you'll continue to enjoy my work. :)

Rapunzel: Thank you! I think you are my nick changing BETA are you the one? PM me if I'm wrong.

A/n: I don't always write the obvious,blatantly telling your what is going on because I believe half the fun of reading is interpreting the text so if you guys actually caught something interesting in the text kudos to you and plop it in a review or something :D !


	17. Sanity hates Shopping!

Hello friends, its been a long time I know! I had my term papers and exam papers one after another for the entire month!!! TT Harrowing experience, so once I finished everything I started immediately on this chapter. I have to say this chapter didn't quite come out right and since my beta ran away...Not much I can do about it. I have to apologize for the incoherence and the general lack of cohesiveness. GYAARRhh !! I will try to do better next time I'm sorry!! Or maybe if you guys hate it a lot I'll just have to rewrite it.

Thank you folks for your kind encouragement and support: **DarkRavie, Hikory, nicha, Mikra, takuya, ... ,Watra, kingofrogues, ravemastaj, rabidbutterfly, RogueFanAM, shadowhawk00, Naruto-X-overs, Moon221, Live Free or Die, Generally Maz, evilchild666, cynlee, Sir Elliot, JadeStoneTheYounger.**

Love you all!!

Disclaimer and A/N: I don't own Naruto and gang so do not send money or mail order checks but DO DONATE your wonderful REVIEWS and COMMENTS for feedback. It helps me improve and basically lets me keep track of which stories people want updated. Yes I hear your screams for The Broken Cradle, I won't let it die!! It will be back!!! .

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Sakura forcefully shoved Naruto out of the bedroom door and slammed it in his face screaming "Get dressed and wait for us downstairs baka!"

"…"

"What are you waiting for Sasuke? Get dressed now, we don't have all day!"

"…" Sasuke nodded and proceeded to the closet, the Uchiha thought it was better if she'd just listen to Sakura and do everything she says, she'll probably leave them alone early and unscathed.

"I don't believe you Sasuke! Walking around without proper undergarments, not to mention Naruto is around most of the time!"

"Hnn…"

"Oh come on! I know it may not seem like it but Naruto is a healthy hot-blooded male, and who knows what kind of perverted thoughts run through their minds?"

Sasuke merely lifted an eyebrow at Sakura whilst putting on a pair of jeans and an oversized black shirt.

"Okay, so you do know what kinda thoughts run through their minds, but you were different. You were more asexual then anything."

Sasuke just shrugged at that statement and started searching through the drawers for her wallet.

"Sasuke?" Sakura's tone of voice suddenly became softer as though she was being bashful about something.

"Hnn…"

"What do you …erm…I mean how…do you feel like now?"

Sasuke looked at her quizzically, pausing for a moment to ponder upon that most important of questions, "I feel…fine?"

"Not that!! I mean do you feel like a girl or a guy? Do you like you know girls still or guys now?"

Sasuke was stunned; she had not really thought about that since the operation, after all since Naruto didn't seem to treat her any differently, she didn't really feel any different. "I feel like …me. Just me."

"So are you attracted to girls or guys?"

"……."

"….."

"…"

"…neither…"

"Arh…that might be a slight problem…"

* * *

That very Saturday afternoon, the citizens of Konoha were treated to the spectacle of the infamous ex-Team 7 trudging towards the Great Mall of Konoha with the most solemn of expressions on their faces. 

There must be a grand crisis at hand to warrant the mobilization of the three most powerful shinobi in the village. The populous watched the trio's every move, hoping to discern the nature of said catastrophe. They were after all a village of ninjas, looking underneath the underneath is everybody's job.

The crowd held their breath as the trio scanned the surroundings intensely. The most skillful of the three, the raven haired prodigy, looked especially somber and dare we say it … nervous? That made everyone within the vicinity extremely uncomfortable.

Suddenly the crowd flinched when the trio stopped outside the pet shop and the more boisterous of the three, the blond haired Hokage successor, gesticulated wildly at the window. The crowd close to the pet shop immediately dispersed in anticipation of a raid and the customers and staff inside the shop looked visibly distressed. The drama abruptly ended when the smartest of the three, the pink-haired female Heracles, clocked the blond over the head and pulled the group along. The crowd in the pet shop gave a collective sigh of relief… it was a false alarm.

The trio finally paused. The dark haired prodigy seemed most distressed and looked ready to bolt at any given moment. The blond chakra powerhouse on the other hand seemed extremely pale and seemed to have lost all ability to form coherent speech. The pink haired freak of nature on the other hand looked absolutely determined to see this mission through.

"OMG!!" a scream rang out amongst the mingling throng. "IT'S THE LINGERIE STORE!!!!!!!!"

And the very next second everyone within and without the shop had stampeded or teleported out of the vicinity in sheer panic, leaving behind a wasteland of a shopping mall.

"I could have sworn that people were staring at us…" Naruto said thoughtfully.

"That's because they probably never laid eyes upon such a beautiful being as me!" Sakura declared flicking a stray strand of hair away from face.

"Hnn…"

* * *

"Welcome ladies to Club Eros, where we sell the most suitable lingerie for kunoichis. For comfort or durability or maybe for some simple, naughty pleasure, we have it all!" a familiar looking sales assistant smiled from behind the counter. 

"Shoot me!! Shoot me now!!" screamed Naruto as he tried to make a break for the door.

The sales attendant smirked diabolically and pinned the door shut with a kunai. Naruto tried in vain to pry the door off its hinges to carry out his dramatic and hopefully successful escape from lacy hell.

"Customers do not leave until they purchase something!" the sales assistant chirped merrily and put on her best smile.

"You're an evil B84 Let me OUTT!!

"Naruto! Stop overreacting!" Sakura scolded her teammate before turning to the sales attendant, "Do you have anything suitable for her?" Sakura gestured towards the incredibly paler Uchiha trying to hide behind a clothes rack. "Mou…what is wrong with you guys…"

"Aww…she still is such a pretty thing! Yes there is the arrival of our latest range at the back do take your time trying out our selection."

"Thank you," Sakura grunted as she managed to remove the frightened Uchiha from behind the clothes rack with sheer brute strength, leaving behind deep gouge marks where the Uchiha had sunk her claws into the wood. Sakura then proceeded to drag her bewildered companion into the back of the store. Once the girls were gone, Naruto could have sworn he saw an evil glint in the eye of the sales attendant.

"Erm…aren't you going to assist them?" Naruto asked with the hope that he would be spared the cruel and unusual punishment for the prank he pulled the last time.

"Ah…they seem to be doing fine on their own," the sales attendant winked, "and we wouldn't want any interruptions now would we?"

"Hehehe…why would we?" Naruto was cold sweating at the point when the sales assistant grinned like a Cheshire cat and closed the distance between them.

"Cause you silly man," she replied as she licked her lips, "we need to continue what we started the last time…"

"NOooooooooooooo…"

* * *

"Don't worry Sasuke, Naruto will be just fine!" Sakura surmised offhandedly as she sifted through the large pile of bras and panties. Sakura lifted up a pair of pink panties peppered with little ribbons and asked, "How about this?" 

A sharp "thunk" could be heard as a kunai buried itself by the side of her head centimeters away from her face. "I guess not then!" she smiled and went back to find another.

Three hours later, when they finally managed to pry Naruto away from the sales attendant's insane grip and got Sasuke something she'll actually wear; aka no lace, no ribbons, no pink, no red, no fuschia, no green, no see through material, no strawberries, no cherries, no berries of any kind, no rabbits, no cats, no cute animals you can kill with a needle, no yellow, no bright colours whatsoever, no fluff and no attachable joke dicks (they found one seriously), Sakura merrily led the little group of traumatized and emotionally scarred individuals away from the deep dark cesspit called a mall.

She whistled a joyful tune as she headed the little weary group with Sasuke following reluctantly behind feeling slightly angsty, slightly suicidal and a whole lot more depressed as she was being dragged from store to store to partake in the strange and horrifying ritual of female bonding called "shopping", Naruto brought up the rear, completely engulfed by boxes and bags of merchandise, trying his best to feel or at least luck his way around the Mall.

Unfortunately, his luck ran out in about 200 paces when he bumped into another luckless shopper. Bags and boxes went flying and Naruto could hear his doom wrapped in a tight pink haired package inch its way to him and it was the other guy's entire fault!!

"HEY WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING ASS…HO…eee…Iruka-sensei?"

"Naruto?" Iruka looked up from where she had fallen to see her favourite former pupil blink owlishly at her.

"Iru-chan! Are you okay!!?" Kakashi ran to pick Iruka off the ground.

"I'm fine Kashi-kun!" Iruka shrieked when Kakashi tried to grope a feel whilst dusting her off.

"Arh…just making sure."

"Naruto, you idiot!! You got all the clothes dirty!" Sakura screamed when the group finally caught up. "Hey…Naruto are you listening to a word I said!"

If Naruto had understood what Sakura was screeching, he certainly wasn't trying to respond. He just stooped down to retrieve the things he had dropped afraid to even make eye contact with anyone.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Iruka asked and gently tapped his shoulders.

Naruto immediately froze at the contact, but in an award winning move he gave Iruka the biggest grin in the world and practically screamed "I'm great Iruka-sensei!! How're you?"

"Eh? I'm wonderful, did you receive the wedding invitation?" Iruka saw Naruto flinch at the W word.

"Yeah I did, will be there!"

"….."

"….."

"Naruto?" Sakura asked trying to break the awkward silence between them.

Finally Sasuke took the initiative to alleviate the tension in the air. Giving Iruka a short bow she said, "Pardon us sensei it's been a long day will meet you some other time."

Iruka seemed startled by the Uchiha's civility and gave a curt nod before walking back to join Kakashi. 'What did I do to make Naruto-kun hate me so much?' Iruka thought trying her best to hide the tears that threatened to divulge her secret hurt.

Sasuke took the opportunity to pull the blond idiot stacked full of stuff back in the direction of her safe haven away from the Mall. "Later, Sakura!" Sasuke muttered and broke into a jog towards her house.

"Arhh… wait, wait don't pull. BYE BYE SAKURA-CHANNN!!"

"What? Where are you guys going?!!" Sakura was perplexed by the behaviour exhibited by her former teammates especially towards there old teachers. Iruka looked positively devastated and Kakashi seemed just as clueless as they all were.

'_What is going on Naruto? Why did you seem so afraid?'…_

* * *

_End of Chapter._

Replies to anonymous reviews:

To ...: thank you for you review, I'm glad you found this silly little fic an inspiration. I feel honoured to read your story :D !!

To kingofrogues: I'm glad that you found the previous chapter interesting and I appreciate it greatly that you took the trouble to review thank you for you support.

To cynlee: Your review deeply encouraged me, thank you for your kind appreciation of this silly little fic that stubbornly didnt want to die. I will try to do my best to keep the laughter and the tears flowing and hopefully you will continue to support this little fic in the future.


	18. Talk to Me

Hey there folks new update! Went back to school gotta pull up my socks; it's my senior year at the university so kinda rolling back on other activities:X

Thank you loads to the people who reviewed the last chapter and made this fic real special love you guys: **Hikory, DarkRavie, takuya, Death by Squishy, Silent Slayer 2000, Kingofrogues, Mikra, chichi, JadeStonetheYounger, nicha, unseeliedarkness, RoguefanAM, kpkchg1, Naruto-X-overs, DeathNotemaker, Generally Maz, shadowhawk00, ravemastaj, Tarkemelhion and Sisco.**

Disclaimer and A/N: I don't own Naruto and gang.

Hey guys since I've gotta spend more time studying this year and next, I am going to update selectively, that means I only update what you guys want me to continue. Anything else, like that KKM fic (The Red Queen Affair) I wrote, is going to be shelved for awhile.

Don't worry about "The Broken Cradle" I heard your cries of anguish, that is next on my to-do list. So dear friends **please review to let me know if you want this fic to be updated next after that**, I'm not trying to be difficult it's just that I have less timenowSorry about the inconvenience but I'm trying to run the finishing lap well, please forgive me. And won't you guys like to see me squirm when I answer every single one of em no matter the number XD !! So Cheerio's until next time, remember to feed your friendly newbie writer!

* * *

Chapter 18

Sasuke stormed back to the house with a protesting Naruto in tow. She flung open the door and literally threw him into the house before slamming the door closed behind her.

"What is wrong with you dobe?" Sasuke snapped at her best friend. "You've been acting like that for days! Iruka and you used to be so close, why are you acting like that now?"

Naruto gaped at the furious Uchiha that stood before him, that has got to be the most she had ever said in a single sentence. "I…I don't know."

"Bullshit!" she snarled.

"What do you want me to say!?" Naruto hollered, "That I am such a selfish brat that I don't want Iruka-sensei to be happy? That I don't want Iruka sensei to get married to Kakashi so that I will always have a place in her heart?"

"Naruto…"

"Not so easy now huh? Bet you didn't know I was such a jerk too…" Naruto hissed.

Sasuke punched him in the face for that remark and the force knocked him back into the couch. "Naruto, if you were a jerk I wouldn't be here. You are an idiot, a scaredy-cat and an annoying SOB but if there is one thing you aren't, it is selfish."

Naruto didn't know how to respond to that, merely rubbing his bruised and swollen cheek with his hand and refusing to make eye contact with Sasuke. He felt so ashamed of himself that he didn't know what to believe anymore.

"Naruto…" Sasuke sighed, "I know you're scared of losing your surrogate parent's affection, but doing this to yourself and Iruka is just…just…stupid."

"…"

And with that last statement, Sasuke picked up the bags and went into the room leaving Naruto to hopefully think about things. She was also probably feeling fatigued from speaking far more than she had ever spoken in her life.

* * *

It was well past midnight and Iruka like most of humanity was well and good fast asleep. However, the chime of the doorbell resounded deafeningly against the backdrop of almost complete silence and rudely snatched Iruka from the embrace of her dreams. 

'Who could that be? Maybe that was a dream,' she thought and went back to sleep.

The doorbell chimed again………and again….and again, again, again ..aga….

Iruka bolted from the comforts of her warm bed and ran to open the door. "WHO IS IT?!!!"

"eh….Naruto?" Iruka gasped in genuine surprise.

"Eh….hello Iruka sensei?" Naruto smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Come on in then." Iruka quickly ushered Naruto into her house and set about getting him a nice cup of tea.

She placed the cup of warm beverage on the coffeetable in from of her guest and watched as he fiddled with the cup for more then a minute in complete silence, his eyes downcast and shielded from her gaze by his messy long golden bangs.

"So…." Iruka started trying to break the awkward silence between them, " why are you here so late?"

"…" No answer from her ward, Iruka gave a nervous giggle. This is getting seriously weird, maybe the Naruto in front of her is an enemy in disguise. Iruka was about to start forming the seals for dispelling illusions when she heard a low mumble coming from her visitor.

"Pardon me but what did you say?"

"…I said I'm sorry Iruka-sensei…"

Iruka was panicking now, what did Naruto do to warrant an apology from him? Did he murder someone, from the village of course? Did he murder the Hokage? Or did he rape some random girl and got her pregnant then found out she was related to the Hokage and then killed her to keep it a secret and has to defect out of country to avoid detection and now he is going to say this is the last time she is ever going to see him and …. and? _'Breath Iruka, breathe…take it easy…'_ Iruka thought, _'there is no reason to hyperventilate and pass out ……_

…_..yet._' Yes ever the optimist isn't she.

"I'm sorry I was avoiding you ever since I heard you were getting married."

'_Oh so it's about that_.' Iruka gave a sigh of relief. "It's okay Naruto, why were you avoiding me anyway?"

"…." Again Naruto refused to meet her eyes and merely went back to ogling his cup.

"Don't worry Naruto it's ok, you can tell me."

"It's because I love you…" Nauto blushed at that remark that turned Iruka's blood into ice.

Iruka's eyes widened dramatically and he looked like he wanted to faint. _'Oh no he loves me? He doesn't want me to marry another man because he loves me? Oh no! I'm not a paedophile….and I only care for Naruto as a son! What am I going to do? How do I let him down gently?' _

"I've never had anyone in my life. You were like a father to me…okay now like a mother to me."

Iruka heaved a sigh of relief. _'Okay it wasn't that kind of love.'_

"I was afraid that you won't love me anymore if you got married. That Kakashi will take all your love and kick me out of your house and leave me alone again….And Christmas…"

"Naruto-kun!" Iruka called in order to get Naruto's attention, the blond boy snapped his head up to finally look at his beloved sensei. Iruka smiled when she saw the look on her ward's face, the look of a lost child looking for affection. "Come here!" she said as she opened her arms out.

Naruto looked scandalized for a moment that Iruka would treat him like a ten year old, but soon his apprehension wore away and he practically ran into his teacher's… no, his father's, I mean mother's (it's getting confusing nowadays) embrace. Iruka slowly wrapped her arms around her beloved child just like she did when he was younger and afraid of the dark, of the thunder and the rain.

She then leaned down and whispered into his ear, "Don't be afraid, you will always be my sweet little boy whom I've taken out to ramen since forever. I won't ever stop loving you even if I marry Kakashi. Okay?"

Naruto didn't answer, he closed his eyes and nodded meekly as Iruka cradled him against her.

"And don't you worry about Kakashi! If he dares kick you out, I'll kick him out too... permanantly!"

* * *

"ACHOO!" 

"Bless you." Sasuke deadpanned as she continued to keep up her surveillance of the Hatake-Umino household from their cherry tree. The past hour was pretty entertaining to say the least. Naruto would say something and Iruka would gape like a goldfish for several minutes until Naruto would continue and she would sigh and look visibly relieved, this would go on for a couple of rounds. And now they look like they've resolved their differences and are currently bonding.

"Looks like someone is jealous," Kakashi grinned maliciously.

"Says the guy sharpening his kunai with his teeth…" Kakashi immediately stopped doing just that.

"Okay so I don't like guys touching Iruka, I admit that. You on the other hand are in denial."

"How so?"

"Oh please don't tell me you don't feel the twisting of kunai in your gut and the pain of a million chidoris in your chest when you see Naruto hugging someone other then you."

"Hnn…"

"You think I don't see the way you glare at any girl he talks too. By the way…" Kakashi winked his one eye, "I know Naruto isn't the selfish one. The selfish one is you."

In a second the Mangekyou Sharingans were locked onto her sneaky teacher. _'How did he hear our conversation earlier?'_

"Hnn…whatever." Sasuke snorted, she'll admit to nothing. "What is that piece of paper in your pocket anyway?"

"Oh this?" Kakashi cooed as he pulled out a precious piece of parchment from his pocket. "This is a restraining order for any males within a hundred feet of Iruka, I plan to get this baby signed tomorrow."

"You're pathetic sensei…"

* * *

Naruto was unable to sleep well that night so he decided to climb to his favourite thinking spot on the Uchiha manor's roof to clear his head. 

He remembered the time he wanted so badly to pass his genin examination. How Iruka sensei had been so hard on him, refusing to let him graduate just because of a failed bunshin. He hated Iruka sensei for ruining his shot at being a ninja, he actually thought that Iruka sensei must've hated him for just being alive. But thankfully he's perspective on his teacher was dramatically changed when he saw how Iruka fought to keep him alive and protect him from Mizuki. Iruka sensei did what no other teacher managed to do; she taught him how to love and how to feel love in return. She was the teacher who showed him the world and he was grateful for it.

"Naruto." He swung his head around to see who had called for him.

"Sasuke?"

"What are you doing?" she asked as she took a seat next to him.

"Nothing much, just thinking about stuff…"

"Don't hurt yourself, dobe."

"Teme…"

"Don't worry dobe, even if you can't find a place at Iruka's you're still welcome here."

Naruto stared wide eyed at Sasuke, before breaking into the warmest smile he could manage, "Thank you, I love you, jackass!"

Sasuke blushed at that proclamation and punched Naruto in the arm, "Stop saying ambiguous stuff!"

Naruto looked absolutely perplexed by Sasuke's words but trying not to appear too much of an idiot decided to let the matter slide.

"So …" Naruto asked trying to change the subject, "what did you and Sakura buy this afternoon?"

"A black thong." Naruto sputtered and nearly choked on his saliva.

"Kidding." Sasuke smirked as she got up and went back to the bedroom.

"You Bastard! I'll get you for that!!!"

Naruto got up from the roof and turned to follow his rival, however before he went inside he turned to glance across the panorama of houses that littered the scenery of Konoha.

'_Take care of Iruka sensei for me, Kakashi sensei….'_

* * *

End of Chapter. 


	19. Of Wedding Bells and Dizzy Spells

Hello all,

Sorry about the long hold up, the crash of projects and neverending essays came upon me:( Thank u for your feedback about what stories you want me to update and hence this little Kakairu treat is for you guys... don't worry emphasis is still Narusasu. XD

I want to thank all those who reviewed: **Mikra, DarkRavie, DeathNoteMaker, takuya, Generally Maz, Ivan's Kitsune, sAyUrI-aNbU, Death by Squishy, ravemastaj,Hikory, Moonlight Black Rose, Kawaii-Aikurushii-Kitsune, DeliciouslyGood, Kunoichi-Isa, JadeStonetheYounger, Kingofrogues, unseeliedarkness, Sisco, HisNameismyNM2, shadowhawk00, Beta Beta, Rosalie, InuyashaNaruto, HisukaUchiha, limecandy, Em-chan 01, FanLover, MadixJ, OnlyinDarknessCanWeSee, Pookey, DarkMiko13, silversnow10 and lija9090.**

Disclaimer and Author's Note: I don't own Naruto and gang. Hello readers and reviewers sorry for the review cap I put you through but I really was not joking about it and I will honour my word. I will update the fic you soever decide you want to be updated through your reviews. As I've already explained, its my senior year and hence will have to put a lot of things in front of updating fics so currently this is probably the only active fanfic, I'm sorry folks but the last chap of "the Broken Cradle" was not as well recieved as this fic (it may change soon though, it all depends on you). I really am not trying to difficult it's just that I can only work on one fic at a time now, I apologize for the pain I put you guys through. :( **So friends if you like to see more of this fanfic, keep it alive with your power of choice and vote for it.**

**

* * *

Chapter 19 **

"We are gathered here today…"

The crowd was smaller then expected, only the closest of friends and relatives were invited and since the family of both the bride and groom cannot be at present, the crowd was tiny indeed. The bride and groom had opted for a Western wedding with all the trapping of a white matrimonial ceremony. The wedding was held at a forested clearing where the couple was said to have met, with a beautifully carved altar and the rest of the great outdoors to complement it.

"… to witness the union of Hatake Kakashi and Umino Iruka…."

Iruka's beloved students and the ex-Rookie 9 huddled at the front of the group cheering excitedly as the happy couple stood in front of the pulpit in the midst of taking their matrimonial vows. Konohamaru stood behind Kakashi performing his duties as the ring bearer. Naruto took his place beside the groom as the best man, looking smart for once in a rented tuxedo and grinning like a Cheshire cat. Sakura and Sasuke were roped in to be the bride's maids for the day, dressed in lilac coloured gowns they did look lovely indeed. However they were definitely outshined by the blushing bride who was decked out in an opulent off-shoulder white lace gown that emphasized the healthy glow of her skin.

"Do you, Hatake Kakashi, take this lady, Umino Iruka, to be your lawfully wedded wife…"

Iruka blushed at the statement and shyly turned her face away from her partner's, 'What if he says no?' Naruto sensing Iruka's uneasiness flashed her a reassuring grin followed by slicing action across his throat whilst gesturing in the groom's position. She held back a chuckle, point well taken.

"To have and to hold…"

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably in her gown, apparently not quite used to the style of clothing. Sakura looked quite about to bawl possibly remembering her own wedding a month or two ago.

"In sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do you part…"

"I do…" Kakashi proclaimed proudly, his voice had no shred of doubt in it. This was something he finally understood and desired with all of his being, finally wanting something… someone for the rest of his dog gone life. And at the sound of his voice he watched Iruka practically bloom before him, she looked so radiant with white flowers in her hair. He sounded so much like a love sick puppy that he just wanted to stab himself in the foot.

"Do you, Umino Iruka, take this man, Hatake Kakashi, to be your lawfully wedded husband…"

This time it was the masked jounin's turn to fidget quite distinctly, he really thought that if Iruka ever rejected him now he'd sail himself off the Hokage Mountain (with all her suitors of course) screaming "If I can't have you, no one else can!!" Sakura however founded the constant twitching a nuisance and made her opinion quite profoundly felt when she drove her high-heeled foot down on her ex-sensei's shoe (he's got to feel that). He grimaced at the rough treatment but his mask hid his otherwise rather unglamorous reaction, _'Yeah I think she broke a bone or two…'_ Kakashi thought mournfully.

"To have and to hold…"

'_Oh yeah, I'd certainly want to have and hold you…'_ Kakashi mused imagining a shy little dolphin curled up on their wedding bed naked as the day she was born, watching intently as the meek doe-eyed beauty blush from the tips of her nose down to her perky little toes as she tries to shield her immodesty from her new husband. _'It's starting to feel very uncomfortable in this penguin suit…'_

"In sickness and in health,"

'_You know I'd play doctor with you in a heartbeat!'_ Kakashi thought as his dirty mind supplied him with pictures of a docile Iruka in bed with nothing on but a hospital gown asking for a check up….

"For richer or for poorer, till death do you part…"

He watched intensely as those delectable red lips moved to form the words "I…". _'So perfect, so beautiful, please be all mine…'_

"KAKASHI!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!"

The silver haired groom snapped up to meet his bride's eyes in confusion; in all honesty he had no idea why everyone was looking at him with such horror in their eyes. Did he forget to wear his pants again? He was so sure he had checked twice…

"Kakashi!! Not on the dress!! Oh no!! This is a rental!!" Iruka screamed as she grabbed a handkerchief out of Naruto's pocket and slammed it onto his nose. "Are you alright? Why is your nose bleeding honey?!"

Kakashi looked down only to discover that blood from his nose had indeed stained the front of his white shirt. _'Bloody #$1…'_

The priest coughed to get the couple's attention and hopefully quiet the murmurs that were starting to form. "So do you?" he repeated.

"Er…yes…. I mean, I do!!" Iruka corrected herself trying to answer the priest and hold down her groom's bleeding nose at the same time.

"Well then if anyone who believe that these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak up now or forever hold your peace…"

Sakura turned around and glared at the audience with her arms akimbo, as if daring someone to waltz up to her and spoil the wedding she spent weeks helping Iruka work on.

The entire audience suddenly became as silent as the grave and when a certain random shinobi accidentally coughed, he nearly died when Sakura gave him the look of imminent Doom ™.

"Alright! By the power vested in me by the state of Konoha, I pronounce you man and wife! You may kiss the bride…"

And with that Kakashi launched himself at his new wife and attacked her lips with renewed vigour, whilst she tried to fight him off screaming "NOT THE DRESS!!! NOT THE DRESS!!"

The crowd cheered loudly and threw their kunais to the sky in celebration (ninjas don't use confetti, that's just rude!!). Sakura slipped out the back of the podium to participate in a heavy make out session with her bushy browed husband whilst Sasuke tried to cut the long skirt out in frustration. That was until Naruto leaned into her and whispered that she looked real good in a dress. After that she proceeded to try to stab his eyes out with the kunai.

* * *

End of Chapter.

A/N: Sorry about the briefness of this chapter, I have an exam paper tomorrow... why am I writing fanfics now!!! O.O Eep!!


	20. Who Let the Dogs out!

Hello readers,

I am sorry I took so long to get this chapter out. The truth is this is the hardest chapter for me to write, this is probably the first chapter that did not write itself a complete struggle from the start. I got like 4 different drafts for this chapter and most just ended up hanging in midair halfway. I had such a bad writer's block that I ended up writing a line a day correcting and re-correcting myself… sigh even now I'm not completely satisfied by this chapter and I apologize by a seeming divergence away from my normal writing style (or a deterioration if you want to put it that way). And I apologize for the lack of humour or really weak attempts at it sobs!

I want to thank the reviewers who never gave up on me and whose support made this chapter possible: **DarkRavie, takuya, HisNameIsMyNM2, Em-chan 01, azilia, sAyUrI-aNbU, Sisco, Simple-Minded Idiot, shadow00, yhaio, JadeStonetheYounger, Nekoyesha, Pookey, Mikra, JadeAnime, ravemastaj, happy pants, Generally Maz, nicha, Hikaru R. Kudou, planet na martian, Crazy4Skittles and elysianwinter**.

Disclaimer and author's note: I do not own Naruto and gang but I do own this fic or at least I hope so. This is non-profit and so please instead of donating cash in support of this fanfic **please donate your reviews** instead. I am currently going through my last year of university and thus unable to keep up with all my fics, hence I can only update one at a time. **Your reviews are the votes for what fanfic you want me to update next**, I apologize for the trouble. I will follow through with the promise to update the fanfic you guys review most, so if you want to support this fic please by all means drop a review by.

* * *

**Chapter 20**

He adjusted the front of his borrowed tuxedo and proceeded to fix his hair, confident that he now looked a hundred percent C-O-O-L, he switched into his suave mode and laid it on thick for the Ladies. Yeaap! He knew he was Hot and he wasn't afraid to use it and where else to lay it on thick but the wedding reception itself. Tons of chicks just waiting around, dreaming about their own perfect wedding and who'd be there to sweep em off their feet and straight into the sack? Yeap, none other then the Man himself!

He quickly scans the room for a suitable target but the girls were all milling around the ANBU boys. Che… girls what is so special about ANBU!?! Isn't he just as strong, handsome, fast and definitely manlier than those suicidal misfits? Why do girls all feel like having the babies of guys who won't last very long? That is one mystery he probably won't be able to crack anytime soon.

Suddenly as he turned to grab a glass of wine, he spied the most perfect girl in the entire Konoha standing right next to the punchbowl. She had the most beautiful dark hair that fell down to her shoulders; they seem wild and untamed, spiked at the back but gentle as they came to the end, just they way he liked them wild and fierce but real gentle in the end. He stopped at the other end of the table, scrutinizing his target more closely. He watched as she lifted the cup of punch and softly pressed it to those full luscious cherry pink lips. Boy did he want to trade places with that cup right now…

He let his eyes wander lower down her porcelain neck to her chest, not much to crow about there but well he wasn't complaining after all that girl is all leg from there. He closed the distance between them and saw the girl snap her head up in his direction, 'very sharp, probably a kunoichi' he thought to himself. He was about to greet her when he got horribly distracted by her eyes, they were so deep and mysterious he was so sure they were made of the finest onyx. This was Class A material, Kiba thought, he had to up the ante a little. He turned on his ultra thick coolness and tried his best to dazzle her with his smile.

"Hey babe, what's a fine thing like you doing in a place like this?"

"…Kiba." She mumbled and rolled her eyes in his direction.

"You know my name?" Kiba choked losing his composure at knowing that the dark haired hottie knew him. He must be quite popular with the ladies, he thought with a smirk.

"Hnn…."

"Well about we get to know each other more…lets say… intimately," Kiba suggested waggling his eyebrows comically.

The girl sighed and returned to watching the punch before offhandedly saying something that sounded something like "check with Naruto."

'NARUTO?!! Dang it why does that two bit dead last keep muscling in on his action!?' Kiba mentally screamed. Ever since the disappearance of Konoha's number one bachelor, sissy ass Sasuke, all of the eligible female population's attention seem to be focused on the up and coming ANBU star. So what if he is 6ft 6, tanned, blond, strong, blue-eyed with a cheeky sense of humour… KIBA HAS GOT TO BE MANLIER!!!

Deep in his silent angry musing, Kiba didn't feel a presence approach from behind until a hand clapped him hard on the back, shocked that he had let his guard down all of his shinobi training came back with a vengeance and his body instinctively whipped around to attack and incapacitate the enemy.

"Woah there dog boy! Don't get your panties in a bunch!!" A familiar voice rang out before locking his arms tightly behind his back. "It's just me, Naruto!" Suddenly he felt the urge to kill heighten even further than before. 'Wait. Offence to kill Konoha shinobi. Even greater offence to kill ANBU personnel. Greater still the offence to kill Hokage's favourite. Dang. Withdraw, withdraw, all units pull back.'

* * *

It was absolutely amusing to hide at the far end of the banquest hall and watch Kiba try, and try was the operative word here, to chat Sasuke up. Apparently not many people outside of Team 7 had heard of the gender switch. Kiba for one seemed completely oblivious to his surroundings, drooling openly in front of the new "girl". 'Real smooth, dog boy...' Naruto chuckled at that thought as we went to take a closer look. 

Naruto realized that Sasuke held Kiba in such rapt attention that he found it quite easy to sneak behind the usually acutely wary jounin. He tried calling out to him to no avail, hence he settled for just shaking him. However the second his hand contacted Kiba's shoulder the man jumped and whipped back with such ferocity that he was forced to lock Kiba's arm in a restraining position until his friend had calmed down.

"Woah there dog boy! Don't get your panties in a bunch! It's just me, Naruto!" Naruto exclaimed trying to snap Kiba out of his drunken rage, his body stilled a little and his eyes started to dart back and forth as though he was having a private conference with himself. Finally Kiba just sighed and went limp all killing intent draining out from his pores.

"Alright dude, you got me! What you want Naruto?" Kiba huffed.

"Nah uh bro I was just hearing that you'd like a date with Sasuke here so I thought I'd pencil you in this Friday." Naruto quipped excitedly.

"Sasuke?!! Dude are you sick man! I'm not dating that snake freak!"

Naruto coughed nervously while his blue eyes continued to dart towards the ever darkening face of Sasuke.

"Erm…Kiba, Sasuke is just behind you man…"

Kiba whipped his head round half expecting the Uchiha to shove a six inch spike up his ass for that but what he saw next was far far scarier. The pretty little hottie he was trying to pick up earlier now had swirling red eyes and the most hideous scowl on her face.

"Sasuke? What happened to you man?!" Kiba squeaked out before he was perfectly pummeled into paste.

* * *

Sasuke stood stock still in front of a large dressing mirror watching himself in the darkness that enveloped the entire room. He had left his change of clothes on the bed and felt too little desire to go get it. Today was probably the worst day of his life, standing at the reception wearing that despicable excuse for clothing. He probably held every single mature male's attention in that room. And it wasn't the good kind of attention, the type you get when you are commanding your troops or gutting your enemies; it was the kind of attention that makes you feel you need to scrape the slime off your body with a kunai and subsequently burn all in the immediate 5 kilometre radius. Unfortunately for Sasuke, he had been too well indoctrinated in the ways of the family and ancient Uchiha policy states that he must refrain from maiming/killing/torturing/or performing any other form of bodily harm upon Konoha personnel who might otherwise function as Uchiha meat shields in the field. Confounded Uchiha protocols!!! 

Sasuke pulled off the bathrobe he was wearing and turned around to change but the reflection in the mirror caught his gaze. He turned around to face the mirror seeing for the first time what he had sacrificed to become. To him the person in the mirror was a complete stranger, in his mind's eye he was and still Sasuke the man but now he was confronted with a startling new revelation of how much his body and changed.

He reached up to cup his face in the hands and realized with a start how much his jaw had softened and narrowed, losing most of its chiseled features of the past. Making him look younger and dare he say it … more feminine. He quickly abandoned the inspection of his face and moved his focus elsewhere. His hands moved down further to his chest. He cupped his hands around growing mounds of flesh that felt so foreign on his skin. Years of learning never to touch things that he'd never own made it even more surreal now...

A soft knock echoed on the wooden door behind him and he immediately rushed to get dressed, admonishing himself for those few moments of indulgence. 'What were you thinking, touching yourself like that?' Sasuke snarled at himself. 'Good thing the dobe actually knocked this time or you'll never live it down.'

He pulled on his yukata and straightened his hair before he stepped out the door. "What is it dobe?" He hissed whilst glaring at his blond house rat. He wondered whether he was imagining things when he saw a healthy blush dust Naruto's cheeks.

"Erm…I just wanted to know if I could eat the ramen on the table?" Naruto quipped and scratched his head nervously.

"Hnn…Its yours."

"Really?!! Thank you Sasu-CHAn!!"

"Hnn…Call me that again and you'll not see a sliver of ramen again…"

"AH bastard that's cruel!!"

"Hnn.."

"Oh yeah I forgot, Tsunade-baba told me to bring you to her office now…"

"Hnn…" Sasuke grunted and went back into the room to change slamming the door behind him.

* * *

When they finally arrived together at the Hokage's office, they were greeted solely by the Fifth herself. She pinned them both with her sharp gaze and motioned for them to step closer to her desk. The atmosphere was choking with unresolved tension as she unceremoniously dumped a file bulging with information in front of the pair.

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Hai!"

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Hai!"

"I have a mission for you kids…"

* * *

End of Chapter. 

A/N: If you haven't noticed in the 2nd part, Sasuke addresses himself in the masculine. It's not a mistake, its just that Sasuke still feels and acts like how he was before the operation. Hope you guys aren't too confused about that. :/

Reply to anonymous:

Elysianwinter: Don't worry about it, I really appreciate your lesson on sex linked traits and I agree the trait should not manifest in males if that's the case. Such as how male cats cannot be tortoise-shell. I'm going to go out on a limb and try to make this sound more plausible, because I'm arguing that the Sharingan is not in its complete form in the males of the family but only in the females. Thus the females are the carriers of the gene whilst it may manifest in the males too. Hmm, think haemophilia…… Okay its been awhile since I sat in a biology class, I admit surrender haha do correct me on my weird theories…


	21. It takes all of Me

Hello, I'm back!! Sorry for the long hiatus, apparently I underestimated the amount of work I had to accomplish during honours year!!! It was absolutely horrifying sprained my wrists writing papers for a straight month, I think I'm scarred for life or at least until I go to work, then maybe I'll go back to studying again. I really have to thank you guys for your great enthusiasm for the fic and hence I will try my best to not let this fic die till I finish. (actually I have no idea how long this fic might take :( ! oops )

I would like to thank these wonderful people who had reviewed in the last chapter: **RoguefanAM, InuyashaHoujo, Em-chan 01, HisNameIsMyNM2, DarkRavie, takuya, DarkMiko13, shadowhawk00, Hikory, hiya couldn't find a name, Kingofrogues, milo the ninja, planet na martian, iloveme5895, inu fan 69, Devil-Speaker, JadeAnime, sabbychan, ravemastaj, Mikra, fOX IN THE ROUGH, lorena, Generally Maz, Tohruismyoneechan, Itachi'sEBILcuppycake and shadowphoenix143.**

Disclaimer and A/N: I don't own Naruto and gang.

I must admit this is chap looks a little pointless, I apologize. Its like a little fluffy ramble before the mission starts and things get quite intense, so I'm trying to get the fluff out of my system to clear the way for the more serious stuff I guess. I hid the mission on purpose, really don't wanna give anything away, afterall this whole fic is so cliché I bet you guys can tell where this is all heading :P! But **just in case you love this fic enough to want me to continue it, just leave me a review or two to say continue. Thank you for being patient with me so far and MERRY CHRISTMAS to ALL!! **

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Chapter 20

The Godaime flipped two rather ominous looking folders onto the table and with a quick flick of the wrist sent them hurtling towards her two subordinates. Sasuke caught his elegantly with a slight movement of his wrist and Naruto caught it tragically between his forehead and his teeth.

"These are your mission specs, commit them to memory, they contain all the important dates, locations and requirements you need for this mission. You have one hour to prepare for departure and since you two are my finest ANBU team, I expect nothing but the best work from you guys. Hence I give you at least a week or two tops to complete this mission, no side trips and no extra expenses and that includes ramen, Naruto!"

Sasuke scanned through the entire folder with his Sharingan and in record time dropped the folder back onto the table whilst Naruto continued to pour over the details in the front page, obviously having a lot of trouble deciphering the first part of the mission. 'That dobe,' Sasuke smirked.

"Remember the mission objective this time is to retrieve information and not an assassination so please show some restraint in the manner you deal with the target or at least until after you retrieve the intended information." Sasuke nodded whilst Naruto was squinting at the text in front of him. Tsunade swiveled her chair around to stare out at the window. "That is all! Oh and one other thing….

The folder will self-destruct in 10 seconds from the moment it's opened…"

"WHAT!!!"

"KABOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!"

"I'll get you yet, Tsunade no ba ba!!!"

* * *

The night grew colder and it took all of Naruto's will power not to drop his head into his lap and doze off during his shift, but a slight rustle at his side gave him all the encouragement he needed as he gently reached over and brushed a few stray strands of dark hair off his partner's face. Camped out in the middle of the wilderness en route to their mission destination was not something uncommon for both of them as they had spent countless nights just like these with separate teams, but strangely the places always seemed more familiar and comfortable when they were together.

Naruto continued to play with the soft locks of darkest night as he lost himself in his own memories of their odd relationship. He didn't quite know what to call Sasuke anymore; they were friends, rivals, maybe siblings, maybe family, he didn't quite know anymore. He moved his fingers to softly graze across the Uchiha's soft cheek reveling in the gentleness of the touch and the sensation beneath his fingertips. He remembered the day of their reunion, the harshness of the cold, wet ground and the bitterness of the wretched wind and rain lashing against his skin as he watched the broken and beaten Sasuke seated under a tree with his eyes turned upward to the bleeding heavens waiting, waiting for a time to die.

The person in question shifted underneath his fingers as his dark haired companion started to stir from his slumber. Dark bleary eyes slowly opened and took in the situation around them and all through his awakening, all Naruto could do was watch just like then. "Naruto?" he croaked out. "What are you doing?"

"Remembering…"

"Hnn…" (Don't hurt yourself thinking.)

"Bastard…" he chided gently. "I was remembering the time I found you under that tree. Your eyes looked so dead, it looked as if you weren't there anymore."

"Hnn…" (When did I …?)

"What you don't remember anything?"

"I don't remember much that day." Sasuke paused for a bit, staring into the campfire slowly trying to recall the events that transpired that afternoon. It was an afternoon, right? Then why did he remember feeling so utterly cold? 'I remember that Itachi passed away. I couldn't even finish what I spent my lifetime trying to accomplish…' he thought to himself. "I killed him…"

Naruto nodded for Sasuke to continue as he lifted Sasuke's head onto his lap in one giant heave. Sasuke struggled for a bit and hit Naruto square in the jaw for that unwanted gesture.

"What!?" Naruto squawked indignantly. "That's what Iruka-sensei always does when I tell him stories of my day!!"

"Dobe! Stop flattening my hair!!"

"I'm stroking your hair in a nice soothing fashion, bastard!! Be grateful that the great Uzumaki Naruto is letting you use his lap!!"

"Pfft……."

"Ooh…..that's a new Sasuke expression!! I must record that for further investigation!"

"Hnn…"

"Aww…come one continue with the story I wanna know more!"

"Hnn…" (there is nothing much to know…)

"I'm sure there is!!"

Sasuke sighed in resignation; he knew he won't get much sleep tonight anyway. "He died. I lived. End of story."

Naruto apparently was not too satisfied by the abrupt story and pounced upon the prone figure on his lap, ruffling up Sasuke's hair. "That's not a story!!! That's a report and a very lousy one at that!! Where is the drama, the juicy details, the action sequence!!!"

"Fine!" Sasuke hissed trying to remove Naruto's person from his hair. "You tell the story…"

"Okay! Hmmm….I know!" Naruto perked up and thumped his fist into his open hand.

"Once upon a time, there was a dashing, strong, and drop-dead gorgeous shinobi who was going to be Hokage; and this dashing, strong, and drop-dead gorgeous shinobi had an annoying, ugly, pasty-faced rival whom he had always competed against when they were younger. They fought a lot, and argued a lot and the dashing, strong, and drop-dead gorgeous shinobi always thought that his rival was a pain in the ass, smart aleck who wasn't all that…hmmph" Naruto nodded his head violently in emphasis of the point, Sasuke merely rolled his eyes at the absolute childishness.

"But they went on missions together, and the annoying, ugly, pasty-faced rival saved the dashing, strong, and drop-dead gorgeous shinobi sometimes …But but but ….the dashing, strong, and drop-dead gorgeous shinobi saved that pasty-faced bastard's ass more times!! And soon the dashing, strong, and drop-dead gorgeous shinobi started believing that the pasty-faced bastard wasn't so bad after all. …" Naruto's voice seemed to drop a little more at the end of the story, startling Sasuke enough to look up at his partner's face.

"Then when the dashing, strong, and drop-dead gorgeous shinobi thought they were becoming best friends,…the pasty faced ass hole ran off to find more power. It was then the dashing and strong shinobi realized that maybe he was deluded in believing that his feelings of friendship were returned and he vowed never to let anyone get so close to him again…" Sasuke heard a slight hitch in Naruto's voice as his face grew more somber, his brilliant blue eyes were hidden beneath shaggy fringe.

"And he set out to fulfill a promise to his friend and to himself that he will bring that pasty faced bastard back even if he had to break every single bone in that asshole's body and drag him home. So he fought and he trained hard till his knuckles bled, till he body was pushed to the limit of his existence, when he thought he was going to die he'd remember that he hadn't brought that bastard back yet and he'd get up, again and again."

Sasuke watched in rapt fascination as Naruto clenched his fist and nearly winced at the force he was pressing his nails into the palm of his hand. Sasuke placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and whispered,

"Your feelings of friendship were not unrequited."

And with that both grew quiet in the night, finding comfort in the knowledge that they were not so alone in the world as they had first believed; and even if this fact might change in the near future, at least for the moment the illusion remain. Until tomorrow, until the next time they face an enemy, until the time one will have to watch the other broken and bleeding on the mission grounds; they'll hang on to this little memory… until then.

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End of Chapter. 


End file.
